DRAFT Test page only — not a live public site. Details are being finalized with the project family.

A New Playground for Cavendish Town Park

The playground beside the Cavendish Town Office has served generations of local kids — and it has worn out. A Cavendish sixth grader is leading the effort to replace it with a safe, welcoming park for children, teens, and adults alike.

How to Give Get Involved
Illustration only — the final design is still being developed with the town.

How to Give

Every dollar goes toward the new playground. Donations are made to the Town of Cavendish for the Playground Improvement Fund.

Give in person

Cash donations are accepted at the Cavendish Town Office:
37 High Street, Cavendish, VT
Please note your gift is for the Playground Improvement Fund.

Give electronically or tax-deductibly

For electronic donations, or if you need a tax-deductible route, email the project team and they will walk you through it:

Email the project team — cavendishtownpark@gmail.com

Tap to open your email app with a donation message ready to send.

Fundraising goal: to be announced — the budget is still being finalized with the town.

Questions about giving? Contact the project family directly: Eddy Braucht — eddy.braucht@gmail.com · Cheryl Braucht — cbraucht@gmail.com · 970-333-0144

It Started with a Sixth Grader

Olivia Braucht, a sixth grader at Cavendish Town Elementary School, looked at the playground in Cavendish Town Park and decided her town deserved better. She turned that idea into a civics project — one that placed third in the middle-school division of the Regional National Civics Bee — and then she did something most students never do: she brought it to the Cavendish Select Board and asked the town to act.

With her parents, Cheryl and Eddy Braucht, helping lead the effort, the proposal has moved from a school project to a real town project. The Select Board voted to move ahead in July 2026, and in August 2026 it conditionally approved using the town's existing playground fund for the effort and put design and budget decisions in the hands of the Town Manager and Recreation Director.

Local partners are already on board, including Cavendish Streetscapes, the Cavendish Community Fund, and the Ludlow Rotary.

Cavendish Streetscapes Cavendish Community Fund Ludlow Rotary

Why a New Playground — and What's Planned

The current playground was built by residents years ago, and time has caught up with it: swings are broken, parts have come loose, the wood is rotting and splintering, and graffiti has marked the structure. Olivia's father has described the existing equipment as a safety hazard. The plan is to start fresh — this is the concept the town has approved moving forward with; the final design is still in development.

The Road to July 4, 2027

  1. Spring 2026

    Olivia develops her civics project and presents the playground plan to the Cavendish Select Board with her parents.

  2. July 13, 2026

    The Select Board approves moving ahead with the project.

  3. August 10, 2026

    The board conditionally approves use of the town's existing Playground Fund and delegates design and budget decisions to the Town Manager and Recreation Director.

  4. Fall 2026

    Fundraising is underway — CTES fifth and sixth graders sold bracelets at Okemo's Fall Into Winter event, and an Okemo fundraiser has already benefited the park.

  5. Spring 2027

    Construction of the new playground.

  6. July 4, 2027

    Target date for the ribbon-cutting — a brand-new Cavendish Town Park playground, ready for summer.

Get Involved / Contact Us

Want to volunteer, donate, sponsor part of the playground, or just ask a question? Send us a note.

Draft note: on this test page, sending opens a pre-addressed email to cavendishtownpark@gmail.com with your answers filled in — just press send in your email app. The form will be fully wired into the site when it moves to its own domain.

Join the Mailing List

The best way to follow the project: design updates, fundraiser announcements, and volunteer-day invitations, straight to your inbox.

Draft note: on this test page, joining opens a pre-addressed email to cavendishtownpark@gmail.com with the subject “Mailing list signup” — just press send in your email app to be added.