GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The city of Grand Rapids started offering free sled libraries this winter for kids and families to enjoy on snowy days; however, now, the hills are silent – and it’s not because of the weather.
GR Outside, a division of Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation, says nearly all the sleds that were meant to stay at the parks have gone missing.
“We put the most sleds at Richmond, actually, because that’s a super busy hill. Tons of people enjoying that space. We put about 20 or 25 sleds there,” Sam Truby with GR Outside told FOX 17 Wednesday.
But Wednesday afternoon, Richmond Park’s sled library was empty.
It was the same at Plaster Creek Family Park, except for a few broken sleds and one left laying in the snow.
“These saucers are ours originally. We got some labels on them,” Truby said.
There were a few sleds available at Mulick Park, but just one supplied by the city – the rest were donated.
“Early this year, we, you know, we started to notice that sleds were not coming back to the library. And, after a while, the libraries were fully depleted of sleds. We restocked them a few times, trying to keep them going, hoping that they’d stick around,” Truby explained. “But eventually, we ran out of sleds and just couldn’t keep up with it.”
GR Outside started with 65 sleds distributed to the three free sledding libraries. Two weeks ago, all three libraries were full.
READ MORE: City of Grand Rapids offering free sled libraries this winter
“Our goal was to give kids something to do and, you know, give kids an opportunity to enjoy the coolest sledding resources that we have,” Truby said. “And, you know, even if kids can’t afford a sled or their families can’t afford a sled, we want to make sure that we can, you know, step in and provide that opportunity. So, it is a little bit of a bummer that there’s no sleds people can enjoy.”
Meanwhile, community members still can check out sleds and other winter gear at the Roosevelt Park gear library.
“To see the fun that a kid has when they get a real sled and, you know, can really go fast and fly down the hill like you’re supposed to, you know, makes their day. It makes our day, you know, it’s fun. It’s healthy,” Truby said.
So, GR Outside plans to bring back the program next year.
“We always want to assume best intentions, you know. Maybe people didn’t realize they’re supposed to be used right at the hill. Maybe they thought you could take them home or, you know, what it is, but, you know, we’re not here to accuse people of that for happening. We’re trying to focus on the positive and just trying to keep the fun going,” Truby added.
The city says it will not replace any of the sleds that have gone missing this year, but is accepting donated sleds.
To donate, just drop off sleds at any of the three free sled libraries listed below:
- Mulick Park
- Plaster Creek Family Park
- Richmond Park
