LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Tribal Health Consortium is partnering with Westside Community Park and the Lakeport Lions Club to bring a new playground to the park.

On Tuesday, Tribal Health Chief Executive Officer Ernesto Padillo presented a $5,000 check to Westside Community Park Committee members.

They were joined by Lakeport Lions Club board members, who previously donated $100,000 to construct a playground at Westside Community Park.

“Lake County Tribal Health Consortium is happy to help reach the fundraising goal at Westside Community Park,” Padilla said. “Parks like Westside don’t only promote physical activity time but family time as well, which is equally important. Any opportunity LCTHC has to give back to the community that has helped us grow and promotes health is an opportunity we don’t pass up.”

Westside Community Park Committee Chair Dennis Rollins said the donation came about after the committee sent out a fundraising letter in an attempt to raise $5,000 to supplement the Lakeport Lions Club's playground donation.

“The current budget requirement is $110,000 with the cost of grading still to be added when the engineering is complete,” he said. “Ruzicka Associates is donating the engineering services.”

Rollins said Lake County Tribal Health received that letter and offered the entire $5,000 to meet the goal the committee’s letter described.

In addition, so far more than $4,000 more has come in from community donations in response to the letter, Rollins said.

“This playground will become a reality thanks to the Lions Club, Lake County Tribal Health and members of our community,” Rollins said.

Earlier this month, during Tribal Health’s groundbreaking of its new Clearlake clinic, Padilla presented a $25,000 to the city of Clearlake to go toward improvements at Austin Park, as Lake County News has reported.

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