Why can’t all jobs be this fun? Children at the Smyrna-Clayton Boys & Girls Club were asked to help with a special assignment on Aug. 12 -- to design a new playground at the club on East Commerce Street in Smyrna.
“When they told me what we were doing, I was like, ‘Hooray!’” said club member Tyron Grant. “Now I can have what I want in the playground for once.”
Club member Cindy Martin described the planning process as “cool,” and said she was looking forward to the new swingset the most.
The children who got to draw their “dream playgrounds” were selected based on good behavior and going “above and beyond” in participation in club activities, according to Club Director Trisha Moses.
“This is a reward for them, but the playground will be a reward for all of our children,” said Moses. “We’re so excited. It’s a great concept.”
The project is being funded by Kraft Foods Foundation, in partnership with the non-profit organization “KaBOOM” which builds playgrounds in underserved areas around the country. The club has never had a playground for “older” club members ages 5 to 12, just one for the pre-K set.
KaBOOM associate project manager Allison Farrington led the design session at the Boys & Girls Club, first asking lots of questions about the kinds of playground equipment the children like most, and their favorite colors. Then the students were asked to draw what they wanted the playground to look like.
“This is the fun part,” said Farrington. “This is their dream playground -- whatever they can imagine.”
Representatives from Kraft Foods in Dover, plant controller Dennis Gudmundsen and production and inventory control manager Monique Davis, visited the club to look at the designs and asked the club members about their “dream” playground.
“This is a way to show how Kraft is involved in the community and that we are being good corporate citizens,” said Davis. “This will really help the children. It’s a way for us to give back, and a way for us to give them something they really need.”
After the design session, the representatives from Kraft and KaBOOM met with parents and members of the Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors to finalize the plans.
The playground is scheduled to be built on Oct. 9 with the help of volunteers from Kraft Foods on during the Kraft Foods Foundation’s annual global week of service, “Delicious Difference Week.”
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The new playground at the Smyrna-Clayton Boys & Girls Club is scheduled to be built on Saturday, Oct. 9, led by employees from project sponsors Kraft Foods and KaBOOM playground company, but community volunteers are welcome.
Anyone interested in helping to build the playground can call Club Director Trisha Moses to register, 659-5610.
