By Steven Scarpa
 Record-Journal staff
  MERIDEN — Two recent fundraisers have raised almost $ 20,000 toward construction costs for a new playground at Hubbard Park.
  A dinner sponsored by Hanover School and held at Platt High School to accommo­date the 600 people who at­tended, raised $12,000. The din­ner was Oct. 18. “Our staff is wonderful about getting to­gether and supporting each other,” said Desiree Duong, a special education teacher at the school and one of the coordina­tors of the event.
  Two days later, the Meriden Elk’s Club contributed $5,000 from its Past Exalted Ruler’s Association Friday Night Social on Oct. 20.
  In both instances, the mon­ey was donated to Noah’s Ark of Hope, a nonprofit founda­tion started by Christian and Sarah Bourdon in the wake of the death of their year-old son Noah in August. “I think our words to describe all of this is astonished and over­whelmed,” Sarah Bourdon said.
  On Friday, Aug. 11, Noah, while playing, accidentally fell from a playscape at Baldwin Pond, struck his head and died from the injuries.
  The playground will likely cost about $200,000. The city’s Hubbard Park Playground Committee has applied for $ 140,000 in grant dollars and the city also plans to contribute to the project.
 

Sarah Bourdon said that once the money is raised for the new playground, the foundation would likely continue its work in some capacity. “Our goals were creating and enhancing recreation opportunities for Meriden’s youth. That would continue to be our focus,” she said.
  Bourdon and other mem­bers of the board of directors are in the process of deter­mining a second project. “There is no manual for deal­ing with the loss of a loved one, whether it is a parent, sibling or a child. We are the type of people who heal by doing,” she said.
  There are several upcoming fundraising events for Noah’s Ark of Hope:
  ■ “Riverstreet,” a local band, will perform at A Night for Noah dance Nov. 18 at Moun­tainside Outing Club in Wallingford. The dance starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $20. To buy tickets or for more infor­mation, call Kathy Showerda at (203) 235-4508 or Nancy Crispino at 237-7908
  ■ Luminary bags will be available to line Main and Camp streets in South Meri­den during the eighth annual Christmas in the Village, Dec. 2, from 2 to 5:30 p.m. The bags can be purchased in memory of a loved one for $ 5 and all proceeds go to the foundation. For more information, call Sarah Bourdon at (203) 639­ 9940.
  A full listing of event and background information on the foundation can be found at w­ww. n­oahsarkofhope. c­om.
  sscarpa@record-journal.com (203) 317-2225