760 Reasons To Play

By KATHY STEELE The Tampa Tribune

Published: Oct 3, 2007

EAST TAMPA - The Dinosaurs shoveled mulch into wheelbarrows. The Bumble Bees put a bridge together. And the Ice Cream team painted four-squares and mascot gators on the sidewalk.

"This is the creative juices time," said Ice Cream team leader Marty Smith, giving marching orders to about 10 volunteers ready with paint and brushes.

They were among more than 250 KaBOOM! playground volunteers assigned to teams. They put together a new playground last week at Highland Pines Park, 4505 21st Ave. Team leaders in pineapple headbands, mouse ears, top hats and fuzzy antennas directed activities; parks and recreation employee Jon Jones entertained as disc jockey for the day.

It brought out the karaoke in Brian Donnelley, who took the microphone for "I Love Rock 'n' Roll."

"I love doing it for the kids," said Donnelley, who works for a Pasco County Home Depot. It was his third experience building a KaBOOM! playground.

Highland Pines was No. 760 out of 1,000 playgrounds being built across the country by the nonprofit foundation and its founding sponsor, The Home Depot. The company is giving about $25 million and 1 million volunteer hours to build the playgrounds.

In addition to Home Depot employees from the Tampa Bay area, volunteers included Mayor Pam Iorio, city parks and recreation staff, United Way, the Mayor's Beautification Program and about 40 architectural students from Tampa Bay Technical High School.

In August, about 35 children were handed crayons and paper and told to draw their dream playgrounds. A Pennsylvania-based company used as many of their ideas as possible to design the playground with slides, a climbing wall, swings, benches, a see-saw, a four-square court, hopscotch board and a painted map of the United States.

With help from the mayor, sod and shrubbery also were planted.

It was a long way from the old playground.

"The park was so deteriorated," said Marilyn Williams. Her now-adult children grew up playing there. She enjoys seeing children use the park, and during meetings on the playground's design made a point of asking about safety.

Project manager Aron Michalski said KaBOOM! has certified safety inspectors to oversee the playground's installation. The design keeps equipment at a safe height and uses engineered wood fiber as a soft covering material.

"We have very, very strict guidelines," he said.

Iorio said the playground easily could have cost the city $100,000. About $7,000 was contributed by United Way, Friends of Tampa Recreation and the private, nonprofit Mayor's Beautification Program.

In her pineapple headband, Peggy Lenny studied instruction sheets and kept an eye on screws and washers organized in piles at her feet for a bridge called Crazy Bones.

"It's like a puzzle coming together," said the parks and recreation volunteer.

Under a pavilion, Ricky Piloto and Leah Metcalf, both 16, curled paint brushes along the contours of a U.S. map outlined on the cement floor. The Tampa Bay Technical students plan careers in architecture.

"You get to experience something outside class that isn't on paper," Piloto said of his volunteer work.

That's what teacher Bryant Martinez had in mind when he signed up the students for playground building.

"You've got to get dirty and get involved in the neighborhood," he told the students.

Mamie Lucas, whose grandchildren play at Highland Pines, could hardly believe the transformation.

"Basically it was dirt out there," she said. "It's just going to look beautiful. They'll be proud to be out there."

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 835-2103 or ksteele@tampatrib.com.