For three days, backers of the Parkside Activities Center Project Telephoned residents of Wellman and surrounding communities to raise money for a project that many believe will provide great benefit to the Wellman community for years to come.

On October 4-6th, callers contacted numerous residents to secure $76,280 toward the construction of the new daycare/recreation center. Mayor Ryan Miller and several other volunteers have declared the phonathon a success for several reasons.

The first reason to celebrate, according to Parkside Activities Center Steering Committee members, is the overwhelmingly positive responses callers received from residents not only in Wellman, but surrounding communities. People meaning the phones were encouraged by the level of support and words of gratitude offered by those receiving the calls.

The amount directly raised is only an indication of support. In addition to those firm pledges, over 130 people requested further information, many indicating they planned to donate, but did not want to make an offer over the phone.

Steering Committee members are currently making plans to contact several individuals who requested personal meetings to discuss options for giving.
Officials overseeing giving also report a number of residents who have com in to local banks with donations after the event. These numbers are not included in the event total.

"We did have a lot of recorders and nobody home calls", reported Miller. "So the total is missing a good number of residents who could still be interested in participating."

Miller also said time and resource constraints dept callers from reaching Mid-Prairie alumni and other possible interested non-residents. "With the Vision Iowa deadline coming closer, we will have to find a way to reach those people."

Bob Freeman, one of the coordinators of this event says anyone can still make a pledge to the projected by contacting Tom Buckwalter or Allen Leichty.
He also wishes to thank all those who gave their time and resources. These include those donating food and the Wellman Telephone Cooperative who set up the phone lines. "Most of all," he added, "We need to thank those who pledged their support to the project."