Published in The BANAR November 2014
by Karine Nijdam
On August 22nd, to the delight of many neighbourhood kids and their parents, a new rocket ship made its home in the playground of École élémentaire catholique Sainte-Marie. Although it just seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere, it actually was the result of community volunteerism at its best.
École Sainte Marie’s school committee had its sight on playground improvements for a number of years. After years of fundraising it was in a position to invest in new playground structures. The school board and many community organizations also graciously donated to the cause including the Blackburn Community Association and its Funfair committee, our outgoing city councilor Rainer Bloess, the Optimist club and Kia 417.
On Friday, August 22nd, early in the morning, a dozen parents, community members and even a local construction contractor took the day off to make the playground better. It was an inspiration to see everyone get to work digging, lifting and assembling without hesitation. By 3 p.m. that afternoon a new rocket ship, with a slide, climbing walls and a set of monkey bars were in place and getting tested by local kids. A week later new soccer goals were put in place.
Personally it was my first experience being so involved with a community project and it was a lot of work. But the personal satisfaction of realizing a project from its inception as a plan on paper to its completion with happy kids at play has made it an experience I would recommend to anyone and one that I would gladly do again.