A joint fundraiser between The Kewanee Voice and the Kewanee Park District held at the Liberty Park splash pad several weeks ago has raised enough to help 16 to 25 Kewanee kids participate in park district programs.

Parks Executive Director Andrew Dwyer said the donation of $400 to the Jerry Nell Memorial Youth Fund provided by the joint fundraiser will help offset the cost of registration for both sports and day camps for local kids in need.

Each $100 donated to the fund ensures that four to five Kewanee children who couldn’t afford to participate in Kewanee Park District activities can now get registered.

The Splish Splash Snack Shack set up shop next to the newest addition to the park district, the Liberty Park splash pad, and sold pork patty and hot dog meals as well as root beer floats. A raffle for four tickets to the Back Road Music Festival was also held. In all, almost $1000 was raised.

Volunteers from the Voice’s staff, Voice board members, Park District commissioners, as well as AmeriCorps volunteers assisted during the event.

Dwyer said he is grateful for The Kewanee Voice, which fulfilled a major need in the community of providing local news.

“The Kewanee Voice is one of my core components for outreach to our community,” he said. “It’s vital.”

Dwyer said the joint fundraiser won’t be the last event that the two organizations coordinate.

“I absolutely see the park district and The Kewanee Voice working together on different events in the future,” he said.

Managing Editor Susan DeVilder said she was pleased with the turnout for the Voice’s first official fundraiser and appreciates the volunteers who helped make it a success and the community’s support. She also expressed a wish to continue to work to fund the Jerry Nell Youth Fund, calling it “an extremely worthwhile cause.”