New Playground Installed at Emma’s Place
The new playground has been built at Emma’s Place, thanks to the hard work of staff and a fabulous group of volunteers who refused to be deterred by multiple reschedules and a scorching forecast!
Those who have been paying attention know that this new playground has been long awaited, and highly anticipated. We began the full Emma’s Place renovation project in spring of 2020, when COVID-19 made it unsafe for volunteers to be on-site and we prioritized getting the townhome units fully renovated and ready for families to move in before tackling the grounds. In fall 2020 we were stopped by a rogue October snowstorm, and we needed to wait for the ground to thaw and dry out in the spring. Then there was the torrential downpour that cancelled the May build date…Mother Nature certainly took us for a ride with this project!
It’s a testament to the how caring and engaged our community is that we were still able to get a dedicated group of volunteers to come to build the playground on June 5th! Volunteers from Hamline Church, Haunted Basement, and other community members and staff worked in record-breaking heat starting at 7 AM, and every pair of hands made the work lighter.
Over the course of the morning we unpacked crates full of playground parts, assembled the pieces, dug foundation holes, and started putting the playground into place. At noon we took a break for a delicious lunch from Nelson Cheese & Deli, generously donated by Hamline Church, reapplied our sunscreen, and surveyed the progress we’d made.
Then it was back to work! In the afternoon shift we were especially grateful for the bin full of work gloves brought by Haunted Basement, which protected everyone’s hands while using tools that were blazing hot from the sun. Around 1 PM the concrete arrived, and we started filling the foundation, one wheelbarrow at a time.
Once the concrete started flowing, the build wrapped up remarkably fast! We put the last pieces of equipment in place, and tightened the final screws, and cleaned up stray concrete splashes. Finally, we put up fencing around the playground in order to keep kids safe and off the playground while the concrete dries and the mulch was blown in. (We knew the kids wouldn’t be able to resist otherwise!)
It was hard labor, especially as the day wore on and the temperature climbed, but it was also very rewarding. For many of the volunteers (and staff) there, it had been a long time since they got to serve their community alongside a large group of people, and the energy of that philanthropy carried us through the day. Not only that, but as the day went on more and more of the kids came out to play in the grass and on the basketball court, and to ask questions about the playground.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this playground build possible! It will make a huge difference for the 13 families and nearly 60 kids who call Emma’s Place home!
