Volunteer work allows for plenty of play

  • 2014-05-17
Around 300 volunteers arrived at Gatewood Elementary School on the afternoon of May 3, with the mission of building a playground for the kids at the school.

Some of the volunteers were members of the Oklahoma City University’s wrestling team, who got involved as part of a community project.

Beginning at 8:30 am and working throughout the day, the volunteers mulched, landscaped, installed benches, and worked on a community garden. Once the playground is complete, it will be open after hours as a community park, according to Kristen Vails, who serves on the Gatewood Elementary community advisory board. The group also hopes to create a walking track once the playground is complete.

Funding for the playground came from KaBOOM!, which is a nonprofit organization that works to build playgrounds in areas with high-poverty, and Foresters, a Toronto-based international finances service company. The project also received funding from corporate and individual donations, according to Vails.

KaBOOM! was founded in 1996 by Darell Hammond, who read a Washington Post story about two children who suffocated in an abandoned car; they were playing there because there was nowhere else for them to play.

Companies interested in partnering with events like this in the future can contact KaBOOM! directly. Community and volunteer service work can be listed in a company’s brochure printing, or on their website, to show what they give back to a community.