St. Bernard
Community Playground Build begins Wednesday and continues through
Sunday daily from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Come one day or every day:
rain or shine to lend a hand, project coordinator Polly Boudreaux
said.
“Your volunteer
effort will make an incredible impact on how big and how creative we
can make this new playground for our children!” Boudreaux said.
“Thanks to our sponsors, donors, committee members and construction
captains we will re-boot, re-pair and re-build AND with the monies
that remain we will provide FREE summer programming for children and
families in the amphitheatre.”
The 14,000 sq.
ft. St. Bernard Community Playground/Amphitheatre in Torres Park has
been closed because of damage from Katrina and a recent fire. This
is the week that this popular play area will be completely repaired
and rebuilt.
The damage
caused by Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005 will be repaired as
hardware is replaced, swings are refurbished and picket fence
sections are restored. The front entrance to the playground
destroyed by arsonists’ fire on January 1, 2008 will be completely
rebuilt along with a brand new section encompassing an interactive
tree fort and wheelchair accessible play areas.
How does a
community project of this magnitude take place?
VOLUNTEERS
have signed up to be a part of the build by offering to work
one or more days this week on three shifts from 8:30 a.m. to
noon, 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Corporations and volunteer groups include Entergy, Shell
Oil, Capital One, Gulf Coast, St. Bernard Parish Government,
Chalmette High, LSU Ag Center 4H, First Baptist New Orleans
Youth Group and Lockheed Martin. To volunteer as a group or
as an individual e-mail
communityplaygroundproject@yahoo.com or call Lauren
Faust at 278-4234.
TOOLS
have been solicited from various volunteer agencies and
willing contractors including rakes, shovels, hammers, saws,
ladders and drills. Tools are still needed. To offer your
tools e-mail Abbey Flaherty at
abbeyf@thegatheringcc.com.
MATERIALS
have been ordered from all parts of the country as well as
through local vendors. All materials are on the ground for
the start of the build including limestone, mulch, lumber,
play equipment, and hardware. Mark Abshier heads up the
materials coordination.
FOOD/DRINK
donations have been solicited from various restaurants and
civic organizations to feed the daily work crews. To donate
a food or drink item call Gidget McDougall or Claudette
Ponstein at 278-4346 or e-mail
emcdougal@sbpg.net.
PICKETS continue to
be sold for $25 as a fundraiser for the project. Remember
also that pickets from the 2003 build will remain and those
destroyed by the hurricane or fire will be replaced.
Contact anyone listed above for an order form.
T-SHIRTS are now
available for $10.
DONATIONS have been
generously provided by the following community entities: the
Meraux Foundation, Senator Walter Boasso, SDT Waste
Services, Frank Silva, St. Bernard Recreation Corporation,
Aaron’s Donuts, Delacroix Corporation, Rozas-Ward
Architects, Dorothy Benge, Mabel Isabel Molero Quatroy
Living Trust, Domino - American Sugar, Melinda Benge Brown,
Home Depot and Entergy. Mail your donation to St.
Bernard Community Playground Project, P.O. Box 1632,
Chalmette, LA 70044. Any funds remaining after build
expenses will be used for exciting summer programming
opportunities such as puppet theatre, storytelling, outdoor
movie nights, and concerts.
The Community
Playground Project is an incredible opportunity to participate in
the parish’s rebuilding effort. Don’t sit on the “backseat” of our
community recovery. Whether you live in Hopedale, Arabi or Violet
it’s time to take a front row seat and get involved! WE NEED YOUR
ENERGY and PASSION.
n addition, we
have been honored to be chosen as the volunteer project for the
global LexisNexis annual convention. Over 200 LexisNexis senior
leaders from across the globe came on April 1 as part of a major
effort to prep the area for this week’s build and to landscape
around the amphitheatre area.
