New York ( CNN ) -- A reference to the name `` Sandy '' can evoke painful reminders of last year 's tragedies , be it the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School or an historic storm that wiped out thousands of homes and businesses , and left millions in the dark . But New Jersey 's largest firefighters union is looking to honor those affected by both calamities and join them and their mutual names into something more positive . Firefighters have begun collecting donations for the `` The Sandy Ground Project , '' with 26 playgrounds to be built in communities recovering from the storm -- one for each victim gunned down on December 14 at the elementary school in Newtown , Connecticut . `` Our only challenge is to raise the money , '' said Bill Lavin , president of the Firefighters ' Mutual Benevolent Association , whose 5,000 members are supporting the $ 2.1 million initiative on the website thesandygroundproject.org . New Jersey and New York each are expected to get 10 playgrounds , with Connecticut getting six . The group says it already has gathered enough funds for at least five of them . The first playground will honor slain special education teacher Ann Marie Murphy and is expected to open on March 1 in Sea Bright , New Jersey , where homes and businesses were devastated by a torrent of wind and water brought by Superstorm Sandy . The massive weather system barreled into the Northeast in late October and left more than 8 million residents without power . Two months later , as emergency personnel struggled in storm recovery , a gunman smashed his way into a Connecticut elementary school and gunned down 6 adults and 20 children , the latter between the ages of 6 and 7 . `` We were all working and then Newtown happened , and it just crushed the nation , '' said Lavin . `` People were just walking around in a daze . '' He knew he needed to act , and was later inspired by news of a Mississippi girl who wrote a letter thanking New Jersey firefighters for a playground they helped build in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina . `` It was so cute , '' Lavin said of the child , who was among several Waveland , Mississippi , schoolchildren to donate a truckload of toys to Sandy victims . `` When I heard about it , I figured we had to do something for our own kids . '' `` After talking with parents and school officials in Connecticut , we decided to do it in honor of those children ( who were killed in Newtown ) . '' The three-week-old project has plans for playgrounds in storm-battered areas such as Toms River , New Jersey ; Midland Beach , Staten Island ; and Westport , Connecticut . `` It 's Bill Lavin 's project and we are supporting him and thrilled with the efforts that he 's made to build them , '' said Jenny Hubbard , the mother of slain 6-year-old Catherine Hubbard . Lavin said he hopes to raise enough money to surpass his goal of 26 playgrounds , and continue building in places such as Tucson , Arizona ; and Columbine and Aurora , Colorado , where mass shootings left scores dead . CNN 's Jordana Ossad and Brittany Brady contributed to this report .
New Jersey 's largest firefighters union is now looking to honor Sandy hook victims . Firefighters have begun collecting donations for `` The Sandy Ground Project '' 26 playgrounds are to be built in communities recovering from the storm . Each playground is for a victim gunned down on December 14 at school in Connecticut .