A place to play... Built!

By Matt Sloane
CNN Fit Nation Producer

As I mentioned a couple of months ago (Full Story), there was a storm brewing on the Louisiana Gulf Coast over the weekend – a storm of volunteers, that is, ready to build an amazing new playground in just six hours.

Pontiff Playground at 9 am

When we first arrived at Pontiff Playground in Metairie on Saturday morning, I still didn't believe it was possible.  There was 200 cubic yards of mulch sitting in the parking lot - it stood about 20 feet tall - 10 tons of concrete waiting to be mixed by hand, and a TON of playground equipment sitting in boxes and bubble wrap.  That was at 8:30 a.m.

"Mulch Mountain" around 10 am

By 2:30 p.m., I was absolutely proved wrong (Watch Dr. Sanjay Gupta's report from Metairie here).  Children who still remember what the park looked like under 5 feet of water after Hurricane Katrina were painting hopscotch on the sidewalks, making tile mosaics and working on a huge mural.  In those same six hours, 250 adult volunteers managed to install a 9-foot-high tube slide, a rock-climbing wall, a sandbox with dinosaur bones at the bottom ready to be "discovered," a 90-foot walking path, a handicap-accessible playhouse and scores of other playthings. 

250 volunteers completed the new Pontiff Playground around 2:30 pm

A park had been reborn, and a dream that started with crayons and a piece of paper just two months earlier became a reality.

For me, it was more than just a service project.  It was the culmination of an eight-month-long process to bring KaBOOM! on as a new partner in the CNN Fit Nation fight against childhood obesity.  It was an important step in our efforts to make a difference at the community level.

How have you been a force for change in terms of health and fitness?  Have you ever been involved in a KaBOOM! project?  If so, we'd love to hear about it!

If you want to help KaBOOM! reach its dream of building a playspace within walking distance of every child in America, go to www.Kaboom.org

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