SODA SPRINGS — The Friends of the Soda Springs City Park’s effort to build an all-inclusive playground in Soda Springs have made significant headway in recent weeks.

Laura Lind, one of the general coordinators for the planned Caribou CommUNITY Playground, said they now have $160,000 to put toward the project thanks to the recent addition of some grants and other donations. That means they’re more than halfway to their $250,000 goal.

“We’ve been working on this for more than 15 months. To finally say we’ve reached 65 percent fundraising and have an end in site — it’s a big relief,” Lind said.

They recently won a $20,000 playground equipment grant through the Let’s Play Video Contest put on by the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM! There were only five grants awarded during the national contest.

Amanda Conley created a video that portrayed an electronic failure that forced kids to leave behind their phones and TVs and relearn how to play outdoors.

“We tried to show that playing is important and we shouldn’t lose (that) even though we have all this amazing technology at our fingertips,” Conley said.

The public was allowed to vote on the top 10 video finalists, and Friends of the Soda Springs City Park worked hard to win their share of votes. They put the information on billboards, passed out fliers and spread the word through print and social media, Conley said. And, thankfully, people supported their efforts.

The Friends of the Soda Springs City Park have also had some other wins recently.

The Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health is giving them $10,000 to put toward rubber surfacing at the playground, Lind said. Valleywide Cooperative and Land O’Lakes also gave them $5,000 and Arctic Circle gave them $4,500. All of that funding will go toward playground equipment.

Lind said Monsanto Grant has also committed another $20,000 for playground equipment.

“We were excited to get that one,” she said.

In addition, Caribou Memorial Hospital recently donated $5,000 to help with ramps, benches and other equipment, and has pledged another $5,000 to the project, Lind said. Straight Forward Auto Service also pitched in $1,000 for a slide.

Lind said they are hoping to construct the playground, which will be located at City Park, in May 2018.

The playground will include a variety of swings, merry-go-rounds, slides, a teeter-totter and other equipment. There will also be a combine, box wagon, fort, geyser and more features that represent some of the area’s history.

The playground will have ADA accessible components as well as ramps, handrails and surfacing that can accommodate wheelchairs and strollers, officials have said. The facilities are meant to make it easier for people of all ages and abilities to visit the park.

They eventually want to add a splash pad as well, Lind said, but they’re currently focusing their efforts on the main playground.

“Our goal is to get the playground built first,” she said.

Although they now have $160,000 between grants, sponsorships, donations, pledges, and fundraisers, they still have another $90,000 to raise in order to make the playground a reality.

People can help by sponsoring playground equipment or buying smaller components for the park including pickets, pavers and tiles.

They can also buy items for the tot lot, which will be dedicated to angel children who are no longer here to play, officials have said.

For more information, visit www.friendsoftheparksoda.com.