The Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority and United Way of West Alabama are working with KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to building playgrounds for children, and PNC Bank to rebuild a playground in an area affected by the April 27, 2011 tornado.
The organizations are collaborating to plan and fund the rebuilding of the Rosedale Park.
About a month ago, KaBOOM! offered a “Design Day” to the children of Rosedale in which each child was given a large sheet of paper to draw their dream playground. The groups then took the children’s sketches and together came up with the money to fund the playground, with PNC as the main contributor, said Richard Davis, the special project manager for Tuscaloosa Park and Recreation.
The Rosedale community and the organizations working on this project are asking anyone over 18 years old to come out to the vacant lot next to Rosedale Baptist Church on Monday, Dec. 10 from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to help rebuild the playground. No special skills are required, and breakfast and lunch will be provided.
Adults and children of all ages are also invited to the ribbon cutting, which will follow the seven-hour building spree.
“I believe this is a great way to serve the community and really make a difference,” Davis said. “And if they can only come out for a few hours, we are allowing volunteers to do this.”
With the Rosedale Court housing development opening during the first week of December, the children who will be living in the development will have a playground to play on, Ruth Gaddis, director of the early childhood initiative of United Way of West Alabama, said.
“People don’t realize play is very important in the development of children,” Gaddis said.
The playground will include three different sizes of slides, a drawbridge and a rock wall. In total, the playground will be 2,500 square feet, Davis said.
“This playground can be a place where these children feel safe and are able to run and slide and swing,” Jennifer Hamner, playground planning committee member and member of Rosedale Baptist Church, said. “It can be a place where families can have birthday parties and look out to what once was, what is, and what will be.”
Volunteers can also help with site preparation – assembling the playground and cutting the wood – Dec. 7-8 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On build day, Dec. 10, volunteers will be putting together the playground, assembling two small shelters, assembling benches and planting trees and shrubs, Davis said.
