The Dysart Community Building’s upper floor pictured packed with tables and people on Saturday, Jan. 20 during the live auction portion of the Dysart-Geneseo Playground Project’s Trivia Night fundraiser. In total the event raised approximately $20,000 toward a new, inclusive playground at the elementary school. PHOTO COURTESY OF ALY GOKEN/FACEBOOK

DYSART – A new inclusive playground at Dysart-Geneseo Elementary is $20,000 closer to becoming a reality thanks to a wildly successful Trivia Night fundraiser.

Held at the Dysart Community Building on the evening of Jan. 20, the fundraiser — organized by event chairs Amber Pippert and Dawn Stoakes with assistance from Aly Goken and Abby Adolphs, among others — served over 177 prime rib meals and sold tickets to more than two dozen trivia team tables.

Between event sales, donations, and live auction items, the fundraiser raised approximately $20,000 toward the playground project, DG Elementary Principal Derek Weber told the Telegraph last week.

“The fundraiser was a complete success,” Weber said in an email. “We raised more money than we anticipated. We had so many people involved in the planning and execution of this event.”

Since last spring, the school has been working to raise funds toward a new “playground for every child” to replace the current 35-year-old playground which has deteriorated significantly through the years while also not being ADA-accessible.

Weber said the goal is to raise $200,000 total toward the project. Adding in the recent Trivia Night funds, the school is now just $75,000 shy of that goal.

In the weeks and months ahead, Weber said they will continue to fundraise and apply for grants. Once funds are secured, the process of ordering the new equipment will begin.

“[Superintendent John Howard] and myself will work on the process of collecting bids,” Weber said. “Once the bids have been collected, it will have to go to the school board for approval. Once approved, we can order the equipment and get it installed.”

If fundraising continues at the clip it has, it’s looking likely the old equipment will be removed and the new playground installed this coming summer — just in time for the 2024-25 school year.

The only portion of the playground that will remain is the preschool equipment due to it being newer and in good shape, Weber said.

Following the Trivia Night event, organizer Aly Goken publicly thanked on Facebook the many people, local businesses, and entities that helped to make the fundraiser possible.

“Pulling off an event like this is a huge group effort,” Goken wrote. “Thankfully we are surrounded by so many people who are willing to step up and step in at any time!”

In addition to thanking chairs Pippert and Stoakes, Goken also thanked Abby Adolphs for being “a master decorator”; Bobby Torres of Bobby’s Grocery for preparing the dinner along with helpers Sara Torres and Jennifer Reese; Zachary Hoover, Jon Barz, Shawn Mehlert, Heidi and Alex Barz, and the La Porte City Lions Club for organizing the trivia questions and the presentation while also handling all the audio visual aspects; Ashley Schutte, Mike Boquist, and Lindy Humphrey for donating the trivia winner baskets; Dysart-Geneseo staff including Principal Derek Weber for allowing the event organizers to take student handprints for use as table decor; Peg Hennings, Danae Elliott, and Sarah Gingrich for waitressing tables; Lynne Ternus, Lisa Asmussen, and Emily Kline for ‘grading’ the trivia papers; Club Dysart including Cassidy Schemmel, Chelsea Sills, Tricia Freemon, Tanya Colwell, Brandi Harmsen, Lindy Humphrey, Pat and Brenda Gardner, and Jenna and Chad Scott for bartending; Cherub Vogeler for acting as the evening’s auctioneer; and finally to those who donated toward the auction including Tiff Reedy-Klima, Nick Reiter, Pat Hansen, Jackie Hennessy, Dawn and John Stoakes, Ian and Erin Flores, Kathy Bonewitz with KE Black Mercantile, Chad and Jenna Scott with Harper’s Public House, Hotel Kirkwood, and the City of Dysart.

Donations to the DG Elementary playground fund are still being accepted and encouraged. Such donations can be made by check either through the mail or in person at the school located at 411 Lincoln Street, Dysart, or at Northeast Security Bank, 402 Main Street in downtown Dysart.

The district has also set up accounts at Tama-Benton Cooperative in Dysart, at Buckingham Cooperative in Buckingham, and at Heartland Co-op in Traer for anyone who wishes to donate a portion of grain to the fundraising project.