Eudora Parks and Recreation director Gary Scott doesn’t know exactly how old some of the playground equipment in Paschal Fish Park is, but he remembers painting some of it as a college student.

“When I was working for the city during the summer, I painted the same swings that are there now,” he said. “Some of that equipment is at least 40 years old.”

The city is looking to replace the older equipment, add soft landing material around equipment and install new benches after being selected as one of the projects listed on a crowdfunding Internet site offered by the National Recreation and Park Association, said Kelly Dumais, city management intern for the city of Eudora.

The Eudora site went live Tuesday and will remain active for 30 more days, Dumais said.

“Gary and the park board heard about this opportunity and asked me if I could help,” she said. “I submitted an application that was pulled from our parks master plan. We looked at what projects would be great for the community and be feasible. Paschal Fish Park stood out.”

The hope is that the greater visibility the page offers will attract a large donor base, Scott said.

“The idea is to get the word out, not just in Eudora, but the region and Midwest,” he said. “We’re hoping individuals, companies and philanthropic organizations will want to help.”

Scott and Dumais haven’t overlooked the need for local donations, and are approaching Eudora businesses and individuals about contributions, while working to increase overall awareness of the site, which tracks the number of donations and amount of money raised.

“A lot of people want to see this happen, but they don’t have the money,” Scott said. “Now they can donate and see the difference they made. Every $10 helps.”

The Internet presence was itself a community project, Dumais said. In addition to information on the drive, the page has photos of the park and equipment to be replaced, as well as renderings of the new equipment a successful drive would purchase. There is also a video of Scott explaining the “dire need” for new equipment.

Eudora High School digital and video teacher Nate Robinson’s Cardinal video club provided the photos and video used on the site, Dumais said.

In addition to her internship with the city, Dumais is pursuing her master’s degree in Kansas University’s public administration program. Her last day in Eudora will be May 13.

“I definitely look forward to coming back to Eudora and seeing brand new playground equipment in Paschal Fish Park,” she said.