News | Article from Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Collaboration gets job done

Fontana (September 4, 2007) - OUR VIEW: Volunteers come together to finish improvement that was spurred by children.

What a great, collaborative effort.

The new KaBOOM! playground next to North Tamarind Elementary School in Fontana was a joint effort by the city, Home Depot, Joe Gibbs Racing, United Way and KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit whose ambitious vision is to put a great place to play within walking distance of every child in the United States.

And this particular playground project was instigated by children, the North Tamarind third-graders who wrote a letter to Mayor Mark Nuaimi about the need for a new playground in the park.

The mayor responded by approaching Inland Empire United Way's Hands On Inland Empire Initiative with a pledge of $75,000 toward building the playground. Hands On approached the NASCAR Foundation, which connected the local group with KaBOOM! More funding came from Home Depot's Racing to Play program, and the project was under way.

So, more than 350 volunteers turned out Thursday to go to work in the sweltering heat. Volunteers from United Way, KaBOOM!, Home Depot and other corporate sponsors pushed wheelbarrows full of concrete, shoveled sawdust, helped erect racing-themed playground equipment and painted the park's gazebo.

All with North Tamarind Elementary students watching from a safe distance.

"We want them to be part of it - to see what's going on because of their civic action," said Larry Decker, program manager for Hands On. "It's something positive that shows them they do have power to make a difference. They do have a voice."

City government, corporations, nonprofits and scores of volunteers working together to build something for children, with those children getting a taste of civic action - it doesn't get much better than that.

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