The funding for the Meridian Playground renovation project (behind the Good Shepherd Center at 50th and Meridian in Wallingford) recently received a kick-start from Tully's Coffee: a grant of $10,000 to build the playground's elegant wrought-iron entry gates, as well as a stone seat-wall and a large, circular game that is to be set in the ground near the entry.

Tully's (located on the corner of N. 45th and Meridian) is also funding and spearheading a companion literacy contest, in which children from Wallingford organizations, such as the Boys & Girls Club, the Library, and FamilyWorks (as well as Tully's younger customers) will be able to submit essays and drawings on their favorite books.

Ten contest winners will be awarded gift certificates as well as a stone engraved with the book title of their choice to be permanently placed in the playground. More contest details will become available in the spring of 2000.

(Engraved stones are being sold to the public as a fund-raiser for $75 a piece. Forms are available at the Wallingford Community Office, the Wallingford-Wilmot Library, several local businesses, or by calling Lisa Kuh at 545-3715.)

For more information about the project, call playground committee chairperson Lisa Kuh at 545-3715.