Neighborhood playground renowned

Lauren Vane

Many hands made light work Wednesday on the grounds of Sun View

Elementary School as the community came together to build a new

fitness course to accompany the school’s playground.

With motivational tunes blaring from loudspeakers, crews of

volunteers transformed a plot of land behind the school with the

joint effort of the Home Depot and KaBoom!, an organization that

builds playgrounds in communities around the country.

“It’s just a great collaboration of the community coming

together,” said Kathryn Gallagher of Home Depot. .

Home Depot is a founding sponsor of the program, and since 1996

has joined with KaBoom! to build playgrounds in “child-rich,

playground-poor” areas, Gallagher said.

More than 100 Home Depot employees volunteered their time

alongside community members and Sun View parents to build the first

KaBoom! project in Huntington Beach.

“It’s an amazing experience to watch both the corporate and local

community come together for kids,” said Sun View Principal John

Drake.

KaBoom! manages the building of the project, while Home Depot pays

for the playground and recruits volunteers from nearby stores,

Gallagher said. The entire effort, from pouring concrete to providing

food for the crews, is fueled by volunteers.

Sun View parent and volunteer Leasa James hammered nails and

helped construct wooden benches for the fitness course.

“We know the kids will really get into this,” James said. “They’re

all looking forward to it.”

Parent and neighbor John Mann said he volunteered because he

wanted to help build a play space his children and other neighborhood

children will enjoy.

“We live close by, so they’re thrilled,” Mann said. “They can come

by and use it any time.”

With one store already in Huntington Beach and another on the way,

Home Depot was looking to contribute to the community and build a

play space where it was needed, Gallagher said.

Huntington Beach store Assistant Manager Rocky Lee said he worked

with the Ocean View School District to find the site for the fitness

course.

Sun View was chosen because the community and the school needed a

fitness course that could be used by both school and neighborhood

children, Lee said.

Everything on the course is designed to give the children a chance

to exercise, Lee said.

“It’s all about fitness,” Lee said.

The course features a rock climbing wall and other equipment that

tests balance, Lee said.

On Wednesday morning the fitness course was well on its way to

completion; Drake and Gallagher were banking that it be finished by

2:30 p.m.

In his experience building playgrounds with KaBoom!, the crews

have always finished by the end of the day, Lee said.

When the fitness course is complete and neighborhood children set

their eyes on the brand new play space, there’s only one thing that’s

stopping them from breaking it in: wet concrete. The children have to

wait 48 hours for the concrete to set -- that’s always the hardest

part, Gallagher said.