Over 200 Volunteers Help Build Framingham Playground

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Sweltering heat was no match for the Framingham parents, officials and community members who volunteered on Thursday to build McCarthy Elementary School a brand new playground. The volunteers were up shoveling mulch and literally pounding pavement since 8:30 a.m. The project was a partnership between the district and the nonprofit KaBOOM!

McCarthy's playground in the front of the school was removed to make way for a new parent pick-up and drop-off lane, the old one interfered with Fuller Middle School construction. Instead of dipping into district funds for the new playground, the district applied for a grant with KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit dedicated to bringing balanced and active play into the daily lives of all kids.

Once the district was accepted into the grant program, it was paired up with funding partner Sierra, an outdoor retail supplier. Sierra not only raised money for the project but donated 200 volunteers to put the playground together.

In total, the playground took three days to build with two days being prep-days and one full day of building. Over 150 cubic yards of mulch were moved, three pallets of concrete were mixed and several smaller projects were accomplished within the larger playground: four benches and a gaga pit were built, four hacienda gardens were planted and dozens of volunteers sweat through their free t-shirts.

For McCarthy Principal Cynthia Page the playground was just as much an opportunity for the community at large as it was for the students. "Our playground has traditionally been a gathering space for both our kids here and for our neighborhood," Page said, "This brand new playground will provide such a wonderful opportunity for us to continue those relationships and opportunities."

Desiree Frumkin, a McCarthy PTO member with a son in second grade at the school said her little boy can't wait to test out the new playground. "He's excited and curious," Frumkin said. As a member of the planning committee in charge of the project, Frumkin said special details were slipped into the playground. "Blue is a McCarthy color but there is a nod to Sierra with the blue and orange," Frumkin said, commenting on the playground colors, "It just fits in really well with the school."

Back in June, KaBOOM! Organized a "Design Day", which was a four hour planning session. The nonprofit met with parents and students to gather input on what the new playground should look like.

Several members of the School Committee and City Council participated as volunteers in the building process. Local and state officials also braved the heat to show support for the project, including Congresswoman Katherine Clark ."Whenever you have a great community event like this, when you have volunteers from all over Framingham to help create something so positive for the children of this city — it's a great community spirit building exercise," Clark said, adding that she's never seen so large for a community project. "This is really an incredibly big outpouring of support for this school and for Framingham," Clark said.

Volunteers and officials shared the same sentiment, hope that the new playground will bring joy to generations of Framingham kids to come.