At dark-thirty (early am) this morning, my Cousin Rhonda and I met up at North Park,
611 Hargrave St., Inglewood, CA 90302, the latests park selected by
KaBoom!, who partnered up with The
City of Inglewood, sponsored by
The J. Willard And Alice S. Marriott Foundation.
How many people knew that
David Marriott, grandson of
J. Willard & Alice S. Marriott, was leading the helms, with shovel and tools in hand, to re-build the playground for the children in the Inglewood community?!
The
City of Inglewood,
Sabrina Barnes, Director, Park, Recreation and Community Services, and her staff, kindly greeted each and every volunteer, along with representatives from Senator Steve Bradford's office, assisting them in signing in and getting to the designated area where the staff @
Kaboom! readily awaited us!
There was a remarkable woman that got us all started with a very good warm-up -
Zumba!
Zumba! Zimba! - style, along with stretching our hands up to the sky and criss-crossing around the park - oh yes, we were doing the darn thing!
KaBoom! requested 200 + volunteers, and it was wonderful because so many people showed up to help. Keep in mind that it's been raining cats and dogs these past few days in Southern, CA., and wouldn't you know it, this morning was truly another beautiful, predictable sunny California Day!
Kaboom! and the
City of Inglewood and General Managers from the
Marriott Hotels around the globe showed up, from New York, Switzerland, Bangkok, India, Polynesian Islands, and the United Kingdom, just to name a few places, jamming to the beats of an excellent DJ - physically assisting in building the playground from the ground up. Seriously! These men and women worked tirelessly to create a park that the children in the neighborhood would love!
After all, the children in the community attended a meeting, and got a chance to draw their dream playground, and out of all of the schematics, Option # 2 won!(See photo to the left).
The next time that you and yours are out and about, and walk or drive by a really nice playground, just think - "How can I make sure that all children have the same opportunities to play in a nice, clean, safe place?" Then click on to the
KaBoom! link and make a donation and volunteer to help build a park near you. Come rain or sunshine, you can be the change you want to see...
Love & light,
Carla