Shrewsbury – The Campaign for Shrewsbury Athletic Fields recently announced that Paula and Jim Buonomo of Shrewsbury have committed $50,000 toward the Shrewsbury High School synthetic turf field project, the largest personal gift the campaign has received to date.
“Jim and Paula Buonomo have been longtime, strong supporters of the Shrewsbury Public
Schools,” said Superintendent Dr. Joseph Sawyer. “They have done so much to make our town a better place, and now through their lead roles in The Campaign for Shrewsbury Athletic Fields and this generous leadership gift, they are further strengthening their legacy of service to our community. I am deeply grateful for their support, and I am confident that their commitment to this important project will result in others joining them in creating more opportunities for school and youth athletics in Shrewsbury.”
In November 2016, the Shrewsbury School Committee approved a recommendation to replace the stadium field at Shrewsbury High School with a synthetic turf field, repave the surrounding track and make other general repairs to the field area. This work will benefit the entire community, including over 1,800 students and athletes at Shrewsbury High School and over 3,000 children who participate in community youth sports programs. Organizers stress that the project is being funded solely through private donations and that no town monies are being used for it. .
The total cost for this work on the stadium field area is just over $2 million. The town of Shrewsbury previously approved and appropriated $285,000 to fund the resurfacing of the track. The remaining $1.8M balance for the synthetic turf project will be raised through corporate sponsorships and private donations from individuals and companies.
Paula and Jim, who are serving as co-chairs for the campaign, are longtime Shrewsbury residents, Shrewsbury High School graduates and the parents of two adult children who also graduated from the Shrewsbury school system. Paula served on the Shrewsbury School Committee for two terms and both Paula and Jim have served on numerous nonprofit boards and have volunteered their time, talent and financial resources in support of not only the Shrewsbury Public Schools and athletic programs, but many community-based initiatives.
“We believe that participation in athletics is good for kids,” the Buonomos said in a statement. “The synthetic, turf field proposed for Shrewsbury High School will allow so many more athletes the opportunity to play the sports they love on a year-round basis. Our two children greatly benefitted from participation in Shrewsbury youth and varsity sports and those experiences helped shape who they are today. We have committed a leadership gift and hope that other individuals, community athletic organizations, and businesses will also feel encouraged to support this worthwhile project.”
The campaign is off to a strong start. Last spring, Central One Federal Credit Union made a gift of $750,000 to name the athletic stadium. With the recent gift of $50,000 from Shrewsbury Federal Credit Union, the Buonomos’ gift and other donations, the project has raised almost $900,000 to date.
For more information on how you can support The Campaign for Shrewsbury Athletic Fields, visit www.turf4shrewsbury.org.
