9/11 Victim Foundation Helps Build New Playground in Rumson

As a child, attended , playing on the same grounds as today’s schoolchildren do. But his life was cut shockingly short when he was killed in the terrorist attacks on September 11. McHeffey was 31.

But McHeffey’s memory will live on at the school’s . A dedication ceremony is planned for Sunday, the 10^th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, at the playground. A plaque honoring McHeffey will be unveiled then.

The new playground wouldn’t have been possible if not for a donation from the , formed in McHeffey’s honor. KDM donated $20,000 for the new playground at the school—a third of the funds needed to make the project a go.

A small group of McHeffey’s family and friends plan to meet at the playground at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday and have a quiet ceremony, according to KDM Foundation Board Member Gregg Kennedy.

“Keith was a sports-oriented and outdoor type of guy. He would appreciate everything his family and friends did,” said KDM Board Member Gregg Kennedy. “Including his new friends, the Friends of Deane Porter.”

Kennedy said he feels this project exemplifies what McHeffy stood for. “Keith would be very happy to see all the kids playing on that field,” he said, adding that Keith’s sisters now have children, as does Keith’s friends, who all will enjoy the new playground for a long time to come.

According to the KDM Foundation website, “The Keith McHeffey Foundation was created to keep the spirit of Keith McHeffey and countless other local victims of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 alive through a variety of charitable functions.”

Kennedy said that KDM was a “small piece of the puzzle in regards to the playground.”

Aside from KDM’s donation, the new playground was largely the result of fundraising effort by local mothers, who formed the Friends of Deane Porter and started to fundraise. Carolyn Cashion, who spearheaded the effort and formed the group, approached the KDM Foundation for a donation.

Now, only four months later, the project has become a reality. “This whole thing was really because of them [the Friends of Deane Porter]. They did the bulk of the work—we just facilitated it,” Kennedy said.

But without KDM, Cashion said, the project would not have been possible. And Cashion said everyone is happy with the results.

“It looks amazing, everyone just loves it,” Cashion said. “It was a much-needed change for the school.”  In addition to the playground, Cashion said they were able to purchase four chess tables, and she hopes they can buy benches for the new basketball court. The fundraising was successful enough to help pay for drainage as well.

A formal ribbon cutting for the entire may be planned for a later date, Cashion said, and will be determined by the Board of Education and the borough. **If you plan on attending the dedication on Sunday, remember to stay off the newly planted sod.