Community Spirit on Display at Minneapolis Grade School Service Project

On Thursday, April 17, our club proudly participated in a meaningful service project at Minneapolis Grade School, located at 317 Argyle Ave in Minneapolis, Kansas. This effort centered around the installation of a colorful and educational Playground Map on the school's blacktop, a project spearheaded by a local student with a passion for service and community improvement.

With full approval from the school board and administration, the student not only organized the initiative but also successfully raised the necessary funds to purchase the Playground Map kit. Demonstrating true leadership, they recruited 10 fellow students to assist with the day’s work.

A member of the West Wichita Rotary Club generously provided the map kit and all required materials. Our club contributed by sending a team of 3 volunteers who helped guide and support the students through the painting process. Thank you to Rotarians Amanda Otto, Kyle Smith and John Hendrick for your participation in this project.

The event began at 9:00 AM and lasted until approximately 1:00 PM. In that time, volunteers and students worked side by side to carefully place and paint the large U.S. map, which now serves as both a vibrant play feature and an educational tool for the school. The Rotary logo was also incorporated into the design, symbolizing the spirit of community service and collaboration.

The project was a wonderful example of how student leadership, club involvement, and community support can come together to make a lasting impact. We extend our thanks to all who participated, and especially to the student leader whose vision brought this initiative to life.

Can you picture going to Hawaii and back in a few minutes? Or how about to Europe and back? Students at the schools with playground maps can do just that. The Rotary Club of West Wichita coordinates the project for District 5680.

These colorful playground maps are approximately 20’ x 40’ and provide a unique teaching aid that is fun for students. The map can be used to teach math, social studies, science and history as well as geography. For example, using sidewalk chalk students can create a scale of miles for the map, label the state capitals, major rivers, the number of electoral votes per state, the date the state entered the union, trace the Lewis and Clark expedition, etc. The teacher files on this page have outlines and information on each state that can be printed as well as suggestions for games to play.

The Rotary Club of West Wichita provides a kit that includes all paint, equipment, materials, stencil and supplies. Your club manages the project. That includes coordination with the school for dates, location of the map and logistics at the school as well as soliciting the volunteers for the labor the day of the project. The Project Files on this page will help you plan and implement this project. Current cost for the supplies and to borrow the kit is $250.