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Kaboom! Playground

Posted by: Nozomi | December 6, 2008 |

Today, we helped to build a playground for an elementary school. Over 100 people came from the neighborhoods, out of state universities, highschools, volunteer organizations, etc. The entire playground became a totally different one after a five-hour work. The swing was built, the basketball courts were painted, the benches were constructed, and the ground was painted for hopscotch. It was amazing to see how many things could be done with the help of a lot of people. Only  five-hours of work made a better community where kids will grow up.

Also, volunteering is not only beneficial for other people but good for the volunteering person. Lots of people said thank you to us after doing the jobs, which always made us feel good.

Gentilly Terrace Elementary School

The Bare Playground at Gentilly Terrace Elementary

Note from Jan, 12/7: Above are 2 pix of the school ‘before.’  Below are a few shots of the ‘after’:

Kaboom 1

Above, the almost finished playspace for young kids.  Below, the mural on the side of the preschool classroom trailer.

kaboom 2

Below, the school logo, in the center of the asphalt yard:

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and just a couple of  our students!  Don’t miss the comments below and other pics posted in the web albums to right:

kaboom UC2

kaboom UC 1

Kaboom UC3

under: being a recovery volunteer, the Kaboom! playground
« Jenny’s Visit
KABOOM! Build »

Responses -

I agree with Nozomi — the Kaboom! playground build was great today! We’ve got lots of pictures to post. The build was at Gentilly Terrace Elementary, one of the charter schools being managed by the University of New Orleans. A lot of the public schools in NOLA are now chartered. I’ve posted 2 pictures of the bare playground BEFORE the build above. you’ll be impressed at the transformation.

   By: Jan Grigsby on December 6, 2008
at 11:45 pm

oh, and I think it was more like 2-300 people who were there to work on it! Let’s do one in Schenectady!!

   By: Jan Grigsby on December 6, 2008
at 11:48 pm

The Kaboom build was great. I can’t wait to see the after pictures. After most of the building work was done, I had the opportunity to play with some of the local kids. They were really excited and appreciative about the new playground. On another note, playgrounds have gotten a lot cooler since I was younger. I also think a Kaboom in Sctdy. would be a great idea.

   By: winklerc on December 7, 2008
at 8:40 am

this was an incredible accomplishment for everyone. to see a playground erected in less than 6 hours is something we all should be proud of. i agree with everything that has been said about the kaboom organization, the idea about a playground in schenectady, and the project at gentilly terrace elementary but i wanted to add something else in this response about the experience. i have never felt a communal bond as strong while working with a diverse group of volunteers, like the one on saturday at the school. it’s so strange, yet amazing, to see how a bunch of strangers can unite and achieve something like this. the playground will be a great place for the kids (i wish i could see their reactions on monday!) but its important we see the value in how we were able to come together as a group, all 200+ of us and tackle a huge task.

   By: sedlakj on December 7, 2008
at 9:27 am

I also felt that building the playground with Kaboom was an amazing experience. Although I spent most of the day shoveling mulch, it was a very rewarding experience because I knew how much the children will appreciate the work that we’d done. Throughout the day, I got the chance to speak with volunteers from the New Orleans area. For me, it was interesting to hear personal stories about recovery efforts and how Katrina is still very much apart of so many people’s lives today. Overall, I had a successful day and I take great pride in everything that was accomplished.

   By: headm on December 7, 2008
at 9:38 am

This is a shout-out to all those veterans of last year’s class — the cuban shuffle lives — see the photo of ‘us’ dancin’ in the Kaboom web album!

   By: Jan Grigsby on December 7, 2008
at 12:56 pm

Hi guys, congratulations on the playground build! It looks terrific. There is momentum from last year for a similar work in Schenectady and I hope that some of you could provide some leadership for it!

   By: Phillip Grigsby on December 7, 2008
at 7:12 pm

Wow! The playground looks great! That took a lot of teamwork to complete. Great job everyone!

   By: Debbie Steinbach on December 10, 2008
at 9:07 am

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