Students at St. Patrick Catholic School in Springfield are temporarily without swing sets, slides and jungle gyms. However if Norman Calmese and the staff at the Capital City Courier, a local monthly newspaper, meet their financial fund-raising goals, the children will once again be swinging, climbing and playing on brand new outdoor playground equipment.

In July, while the children were on summer break, vandals set fire to safety chips on the ground and around the playground equipment, causing extensive damage. Calmese, the general manager of the Capital City Courier, says he was saddened by the idea that the 57 children in grades K-6 no longer had swings, slides or climbing equipment to enjoy.

"If you go by there at noon, you see the kids just kind of running around in circles," he says. "They don't have anything to play on." That's why Calmese says his newspaper has decided to sponsor a special fund-raising play titled We Fall Down, But We Get Up, which centers around main character of Tony Thomas, who personally experiences the destructive elements of addiction.

Featured in the play will be, among others, Mike Welch who appeared in the movies Groundhog Day and Prison Break; Demetrius Johnson, a former player on the New York Jets football team and Jermaine Hampton, who played defensive back for the Indianapolis Colts. Several local newspaper and television personalities will be featured as well.

The play will take place Oct. 18 and Oct. 25 at Abundant Faith Christian Center at 2525 S. Taylor Ave. in Springfield. Doors open each evening at 6 and the play begins at 7. Sponsorship options are available to make sure children from the Boys and Girls Club, St. Patrick Catholic School and other schools can attend. (For example, a company that donates $120 will assure that 10 children can attend the play and will have its name placed in the program book. The more tickets a company buys, the larger its program advertisement will be.)

"The funds from our sponsors will raise the money to buy the playground equipment," Calmese says. "We're hoping to raise between $15,000-$20,000, so we can put up all new equipment. We think this is important."

For more information on the play or to purchase tickets, call the Capital City Courier at (217) 529-2998.