Rai$e The Rims: Whittier Campus Beautification

*Please note we continue to work with the community on donations to reduce the ask.  If we do not reach our goal funds will go towards what we can afford to install. 

Grab your Rai$e The Rims Whittier T-Shirt Today!! 

Whittier Elementary is a unique and rich place for children to learn, develop and grow along with its incredible diversity in race, class and background.  Its campus and overall performance brings value to homes, to incoming families, and to children both during and after school.   The strain of the pandemic in the past two years at Whittier, like all schools, has been challenging and has highlighted areas of Whittier’s building and grounds that are in need of improvement. 

A commitment and ongoing goal of the Whittier PTO is to reimagine our campus to be a fun, inviting, and safe space for our Wildcat students and families. This project kicked off as we began to look at ways to further invest in our outdoor space, as over half our families have never been inside the school and only know the blacktop.

Currently the main area where the Whittier students and the general community interacts is a decades-old blacktop with very little equipment or engaging activities.  A unique opportunity will be available this summer with D97 installing a new blacktop.  The Whittier PTO would like to take advantage of this opportunity as we believe this upgrade will enhance the lives of students, families and the general community.

The Whittier PTO proposes to install three basketball courts in the back of the school on the north end of the campus. 

• The north end of the blacktop has a great deal of “dead” space that can easily accommodate three courts, allowing for multiple games to be played at any one time and a variety of community members to use the courts together. 
• Three courts measuring 30X30 will allow for a variety of heights to accommodate players at any stage
• Two 9 foot hoops for 3rd, 4th and 5th and older kids. 
• Replace the funnel ball hoop closest to the building with a 8ft hoop for Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd and younger kids.

In support of this endeavor, the Whittier PTO Leadership voted on April 5th to contribute 1/3 of the cost of the hoops, not to exceed $5,000.  To accomplish the goal of a multi-court expansion, we are asking the Whittier Community to raise $20,000 to fund the three courts, benches, garbage bin and mural art installation.

Fundraising Goals!  In honor of Whittier's motto, we will name the courts: 

• Be Responsible Court - Raise $6,000 for one hoop and court lines.
• Be Respectful Court  - Raise $11,000 and it gets us a second hoop, with court lines, one bench and a garbage bin.
• Be Safe Court - Raise $21,000 and we can get a third hoop, second bench and court murals.

We know you will have questions and will think about the risks that bringing this kind of addition to Whittier could bring.  Please read our proposal on how we will address risks with solutions, and more detail on this initiative here.