The Town’s gathering place

In 2001, parents came together to solve a major problem in Town. While Woodside is home to many beautiful trails and two County Parks, at that time the only field space available for local sports teams was on the site of Woodside Elementary School.

Dozens of school teams were vying for playing and practice times, leaving many other youth and adult sports teams, including CYSA soccer, lacrosse, AYSO and Little League, to look for space in other communities.

Working with the Town’s staff over the space of several years, this group evaluated a number of possible sites for the new fields but was unable to find a place that could gain consensus among all the neighbors. In 2004, Town residents Claire and Noel Perry offered to donate their land at 5001 Farm Hill Blvd. if the community could raise the funds needed to design and build the playing fields.

Energized by the Perry’s generosity and an anonymous donor who was willing to match any contribution up to $600,000, a small group of parents (including WCF Board members Jim Milton and Diane Talbert) rolled up their sleeves and partnered with the Woodside Community Foundation to raise the money needed for the new fields and park.

With contributions big and small, the Barkley Fields Fund received hundreds of donations over the course of several years. According to Sally Hartman, “It was a huge relief to know that the Woodside Community Foundation would handle the donations and do it correctly because we had never done anything like this before. Partnering with WCF allowed us to concentrate all our efforts on fundraising and took out a huge chunk of worry.”

In 2008, the Barkley Fields Fund group raised more than $1.5 million and the Foundation remitted these funds to the Town of Woodside for the design and construction of the fields and park.

When asked about the importance of this project, Sally Hartman said, “Public gathering spaces are so important for communities. Building Barkley Fields and Park was a project that Town residents could come together on and say that this is important now and for the future.”

The creation of Barkley Fields and Park, located at 5001 Farm Hill Blvd, is the Woodside Community Foundation’s biggest project to date.