$50K donation for Greenfield turf rescinded following logo controversy

GREENFIELD, Ind. – An anonymous donor has rescinded a $50,000 offer to replace turf at Greenfield-Central High School amid controversy over a logo that was to be added to the field.

Five donors asked the phrase, #BlessTheWorld be included on the new artificial turf, but several school board and community members believed it would cause a lawsuit as the phrase is usually associated with Christianity.

The Greenfield Central School District is raising funds to replace their natural turf field at Greenfield-Central High School with artificial turf. District officials said the replacement would benefit not only the school’s football team, but other student groups who use the area.

Although the donors said the phrase is not associated with a set of beliefs, it is locally tied to Park Chapel Christian Church’s pay-it-forward campaign.

The group said in an email to the school board, “#BlessTheWorld is an online expression that celebrates giving back, making a positive difference and any act of kindness that makes the world a better place. It’s not a set of beliefs or a creed. It’s a call to action.”

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The donors’ second letter sent on Tuesday read:

“The intent of sponsoring the turf field project was to give back to the community and to encourage others to do the same by having our sponsorship represented by the logo, #blesstheworld. The group views this as a positive message that includes everyone.

“It promotes giving back, making a difference and helping others through acts of kindness. However, there have been some concerns expressed about the logo causing the school system potential problems. The group does not wish for this to become something polarizing, negative or problematic, so, the group is withdrawing our request to be sponsors. We would like to thank Greenfield-Central schools for their consideration.”

The new field will cost about $800,000, and the district will cover $200,000. District officials are leaning on donations to cover the remaining $600,000.

Steve Menser, a board member who initially raised concerns about the logo, said if the school district endorsed a religion, it could add more fuel to the fire.

“I didn’t want to end up costing the school corporation more than the value of the donation in legal fees,” he told the Greenfield Reporter.