University of Pittsburgh

Connected

Building a Playground

Inclement weather did not deter the giving spirit of Katz students, faculty, and staff. On Saturday, October 28, Katz Team MBA volunteers braved rain and cold temperatures to help build a 2,500-square-foot playground at the Westinghouse Valley Human Services Center in Turtle Creek, Pa.

The playground construction, organized by the Junior League of Pittsburgh, KaBOOM!, and Human Services Center Corporation (HSCC), incorporated the ideas of Mon Valley children and the professional guidance of KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit organization that has used a community-build model to construct nearly 1,000 playgrounds, skate parks, sports fields, and ice rinks across North America in the past decade.

According to Alicia Andrews, associate director of Westinghouse Valley HSCC, “This playground will have a tremendously positive impact on HSCC and the youth we serve. For years, HSCC’s courtyard has been heavily used by area youth but has never been configured properly. [In the past,] we installed amenities like basketball hoops, but the playground is the biggest and most substantial addition we have ever made.”

“Play is vital to healthy development in children and playgrounds are an integral part of the fabric of our communities,” said Darell Hammond, CEO and cofounder of KaBOOM! “The playground will enhance the physical fitness aspects of our youth programs and provide a constructive means for channeling the youths’ energies. As a small nonprofit agency, we have not had the resources for a project of this magnitude. With the assistance provided by KaBOOM!, the Junior League of Pittsburgh, and many volunteers, our long time dream of a playground became a reality,” Andrews added.