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O'Donnell family offers dry‑land diving training installation for Beede Center in memory of Maisie O'Donnell
Summary
Parents of late Concord‑Carlisle student Maisie O'Donnell presented plans and fundraising progress for a dry‑land diving training facility to the joint school committees, seeking committee support as they pursue select board approval and remaining fundraising.
Betsy and Christophe O'Donnell on Wednesday asked the Concord and Concord‑Carlisle school committees to support a donor gift to build a dry‑land diving training facility at the Beede Center to honor their daughter, Maisie O'Donnell, a Class of 2025 student who died in a car crash earlier this year. The O'Donnells said the equipment — a trampoline, a dry board with a landing pit and a harness system — would let divers practice skills with many repetitions safely before entering the water.
Why it matters: The O'Donnells and presenting coach Tracy Bird said the installation would expand local access to specialized dry‑land equipment now available mostly at colleges, would serve Concord‑Carlisle High School divers and Boston‑area clubs, and could help introduce more children to the sport. The family said more than half of nearly 700 donors so far are from Concord and Carlisle.
Details: The O'Donnells reported they have raised more than $400,000 in cash and pledges and said remaining pledges bring the project to an estimated construction cost of $752,000 (transcript gave an implausible larger figure; the committee and donors described this as the intended total). They said the proposal includes an endowed fund to pay ongoing maintenance and eventual equipment replacement. Donations are being accepted through a donor‑advised fund at the MetroWest Community Foundation; the family advised interested donors to use the link in the obituary posted on the foundation's site.
Committee response and next steps: Members of both school committees gave verbal support for the project during a roll call. Superintendent Laurie Hunter and Jess Porter, the town's assistant town manager who attended, described the intergovernmental approval process: the Recreation Commission has supported the gift, the Regional School Committee must endorse it and the select board will accept the gift if both bodies agree. The O'Donnells said their next scheduled step is to seek select board approval and complete feasibility planning.
What the donors said: "She found a new home. That home was the Beede Center," Betsy O'Donnell said, describing Maisie's connection to diving and the center's broader role for kids who do not find traditional team sports a fit. Coach Tracy Bird said the dry‑land equipment allows divers to practice dozens of repetitions safely and reduces fear before entering the water.
Context and limitations: The committee's statements at the meeting were expressions of support, not formal votes to accept or install the equipment. The O'Donnells said the proposal is conceptual pending feasibility work, and that final design, schedule and installation terms will be determined in collaboration with town staff and the Recreation Department.
Ending: The family said they will keep the committees informed as fundraising and feasibility work continue and asked for the committees' endorsements so they can complete grant and pledge fundraising and proceed to design.
