John Powers knows every square inch of Chicago's Mount Greenwood Park, where he spent his youth playing 16-inch softball, climbing trees and doing other kid stuff.

So when asked to participate in a Jan. 5 benefit for the rebuilding of the park's playlot, he couldn't say no, he says.

"I don't get back there very often," says Powers, who now lives in Lake Geneva, Wis.

Powers, an author and motivational speaker, says he will do a humorous talk and then answer audience questions.

He's donating his time, and the Beverly Arts Center is donating the venue, says Kathleen Riordan, one of four local women who organized the Mount Greenwood Playlot Initiative. Loyola Press will be there, too, selling copies of Powers' re-released novels, with a portion of the proceeds going to the effort, she says.

So far, the initiative has raised about $720,000 of the $800,000 goal, Riordan says. They're anticipating the Powers event, which had sold between 60 and 80 tickets with just minimal publicity, will net $9,000 to $10,000, she says.

Several pieces of playground equipment were removed in March after a safety inspection turned up serious hazards, and the Chicago Park District is tentatively set to remove the rest in the spring. The last renovation was 20 years ago, and much of what's there is even older, Riordan says.

"It's very rundown, very much in a state of disrepair," she says. "Things are broken, and have sharp edges. A lot of kids hang out there and have damaged it."

The goal, Riordan says, is for the playlot to be finished in time for Mount Greenwood's annual Party in the Park in September.

The date is significant because the community will be celebrating its 100th anniversary of being annexed into Chicago, says Riordan, the married mother of twin 4-year-old girls.

Several community members on the Mount Greenwood Advisory Council are putting together a "wish list" for the park based on neighbors' comments, she says. They will consult with the park district on the equipment that gets installed.

There are two things that are certain, she says: there will be a rubberized surface and the facility will be accessible to all children, not just those without disabilities.

Ultimately, they want it to be as state-of-the-art as some of the city's newer playgrounds on the North Side, such as Margate off Lake Shore Drive.

"We want a park like that," she says.