Sandcastle World Record Attempt Will Benefit Local Charities

Calling all non-profit organizations... Canton resident Ed Jarrett’s attempt to break his own Guinness Book World Record this spring is also a fundraising opportunity for area charities.

This April-May, Jarrett will be building what he hopes will be a 35-foot tall sandcastle at Winding Trails in Farmington, which will break his previous world records. But “Jarrett’s Castle” will also be a multi-charity fundraising event, according to Jarrett.

“We’ve been actively and aggressively soliciting nonprofits to be a part of this,” said Jarrett, who noted that as of this week, Special Olympics Connecticut, Winding Trails’ “Save Walton Pond” campaign and Gifts of Love in Avon have signed on as beneficiaries.

Some 2,000 volunteers are needed to be part of “bucket brigades” to help pack sand for the castle. The hope is that charities will sign on to organize a group of people to be in the “bucket brigades,” explained Laura Phillips Ward of WardComm Public Relations in Avon, who is handling publicity for Jarrett’s Castle. Then the charities will get people to pledge to sponsor them and raise money per bucket, she said. Jarrett said he is going to need about 250,000 buckets filled with sand to help get the castle to 35 feet.

At every stage of the process, there will be opportunities for brand promotion. Charitable organizations that sign on to raise money at the event will be featured on Jarrett’s website, www.jarrettscastle.com with their logos and links to their websites, noted Ward.

Those groups who participate keep 80 percent of the funds they raise, with the other 20 percent going to cover event expenses.

Saving Walton Pond

 At Winding Trails, Walton Pond is dying, according to staff. There is sediment in the pond and two failed dams. The plan is to “replace the failing dams, partially dredge Walden Pond, create deep pools to make new aquatic life and provide a sediment basin to protect Walden Pond from future sediment accumulation,” the recreation area's website says.

The mission of Special Olympics Connecticut is to “provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.” According to their website, the group is affecting only a small percentage of the 30,000 people in Connecticut with these disabilities and hopes to raise awareness of their organization.

Gifts of Love, based in Avon, has as its mission to “help meet the basic needs of individuals and families in Central Connecticut experiencing a financial crisis so that they can achieve and maintain self-sufficiency,” according to their website.

For more information, visit www.jarrettscastle.com and click on the “get involved” tab, or call (860) 578-4580.