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Volunteers at CentroNìa Playground Build
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Bits of sawdust wafted on the breeze as people hauled engineered wood fiber (also known as mulch) from the parking lot to the playground site. Power tools squealed occasionally but didn’t drown out the eclectic blend of Latin, R&B, and pop music pumping from the DJ’s speakers. And everywhere there were bright colors – the red and purple of the playground equipment, the bright blues and greens of the mural being painted, and the yellow balloons waving in the air all around the site.
As part of Comcast Cares Day, over 186 volunteers, mostly Comcast employees, turned out Saturday to build a playground at the Takoma Park, Md. location of CentroNìa, a Washington, D.C.-based, multilingual, youth development nonprofit. The volunteers sweated in the warm, sunny weather as they mixed 14,000 lbs. of concrete by hand and moved 170 cubic yards of mulch on tarps from the parking lot to the playspace. Carmien Ray, technical operations supervisor at Comcast, took on the mantle of Mulch Queen for the day, wearing a crown and guiding volunteers to where they needed to place the mulch. “It’s fun!” she said, grinning. “But it’s not for the faint of heart. You’ve got to have endurance to work the mulch!”  | CentroNìa Playground - before |
The playspace, built in just five hours, includes not only two big play structures, but also several picnic tables, a shade structure, benches, trees, and a large mural and tricycle path. Lisa Miller, development associate at CentroNìa, knows this project will have long-term implications for the kids served there – and their parents. “It shows the kids that they’re valued,” she said. “Comcast has made an investment in them, and therefore in the community." See more photos from the build Read about the Design Day |