JOPLIN, Mo. —
Ideas ranged from castles to a volcano, but there was a clear consensus for slides and monkey bars among youngsters who got the opportunity Thursday to offer design suggestions for a new playground for the Joplin Head Start Center at 1200 N. Main St.
Some of the elements will be incorporated in the playground to be built as a cooperative project of KaBOOM!, with funding from the PNC Foundation.
More than 50 youngsters joined in the design effort, led by Naudy Martinez, an associate project manager with KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit that focuses on play for children. The PNC Foundation is part of PNC Financial Services Group.
“This is going to be a great addition for us,” said John Joines, executive director of the Economic Security Corp., which operates Head Start programs in the region.
The Joplin location was chosen because Head Start is serving more children in the wake of the May 22 tornado.
PNC Foundation funding normally is spent in cities that have offices of the PNC Financial Services Group, said Steve Smith, executive vice president of the firm’s operation in Overland Park, Kan.
“Joplin is about midway between our offices in the Kansas City area and Little Rock, and we had so many employees come here to volunteer after the tornado,” he said. “They wanted to do something for Joplin.”
He said workers wrote the grant that was submitted to the foundation, and they chose the Head Start program because one of the focuses of the foundation is early childhood development.
Dennis Seifers, a PNC vice president, said the foundation has pledged funding of $94,000 for the playground and an Imagination Playground in a Cart — containing huge rubber parts that can be configured in a variety of ways to let youngsters create their own play space — that was unveiled Thursday at the center.
He said workers from the company will join with local volunteers to build the playground in a six-hour period. He said the foundation and KaBOOM! have worked together on five playground projects in the past year.
Joines said local volunteers also will participate in the planning and will raise about $8,500 for the project.
After the May 22 tornado, Joines said, Head Start provided buses to transport the injured, then volunteers, and then opened the North Main Street location to provide emergency child care for infants and children. Currently, more than 200 Head Start students are served at the center.
Track record
KaBOOM! WAS FOUNDED by entrepreneur Darell Hammond and has built more than 2,000 playgrounds in the U.S.
May 2011 Joplin tornado
Related Photos
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Amanda Downum, of Joplin, and her son, 3-year-old Braedyn Nivens, work together on designing a “dream playground” Thursday at the Joplin Head Start Center. Some design elements from the children at the center are to be incorporated into a playground project to be undertaken by a national nonprofit and a financial company. GLOBE | T. ROB BROWN
Discussion
Head Start youngsters offer design for new playground
- May 2011 Joplin tornado
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FACES OF RECOVERY: 176,869 volunteers help put Joplin together again
They initially came in droves, pouring into Joplin by the thousands during the months following the May 2011 tornado to clear debris, clean up damaged homes and businesses and distribute donations of food, water, clothing and other necessities.
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SLIDESHOW: One year later, One day of unity, updated
Photos from a day of events commemorating the May 22, 2011 tornado anniversary
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Therapy dogs
Any question that Louie was bred to put people as ease is put to rest when the golden retriever trots over to where a visitor sits and puts his head on their knee, the dog’s eyes filled with a gentle affection.
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Nova Kluseman and Jeanne Morrow
Nova Kluseman has staked her claim on Wednesdays at the Mercy medical office clinics where she volunteers. The staff at Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri will know it’s Thursday when they see Jeanne Morrow walk through the door.
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Greentree Community Church
Every two months, Joplin plays host to some now-familiar faces. They’re members of Greentree Community Church in St. Louis, and they have “adopted” the city as one of their mission projects since the tornado.
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Virginia Laas
Virginia Laas isn’t an accountant or bookkeeper by trade. But when the tornado caused significant damage to Joplin Schools, and subsequently spurred a massive landslide of donations to the district, Laas voluntarily stepped into those roles to fill a need that administrators were too busy to handle.
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Rebecca Williams
Two years after the tornado, Rebecca Williams remains committed to helping people around the world keep up with the progress that has been made in Joplin.
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Community Outreach Team
While it didn’t yet have a formal name, the seeds of Freeman Health System’s Community Outreach Team were planted in the hours following the tornado.
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Jewish Disaster Response Corps
“Tikkun olam” is Hebrew for “repairing the world,” and the concept — of service to others, of helping those in need — is prevalent in Judaism.
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Dorothy Maples
Dorothy Maples always felt a calling to volunteer, whether it was participating in a fundraiser or giving a hand to help someone in need.
- More May 2011 Joplin tornado Headlines
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