Archive: News

'Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds.'  Well, maybe, but the rain certainly didn't deter volunteers from coming to Lansing's Myers Park Wednesday to build a new playground.  Fundraising began in February, and Wednesday was the first day of the 'community build' that will result in a big, beautiful, finished new playground this Sunday.

"We can't afford to be bothered by the rain," said one volunteer Wednesday afternoon.  "We only have five days!"


mp3design2_900.jpgCommunity-built playgrounds are the specialty of Lansing's own Leathers and Associates, which has worked on almost 2,000 playgrounds throughout the United States and 7 other countries.  Ideas for the design were solicited from local children and incorporated into an overall design.  Meanwhile committees were formed to hold fund raising events and to organize the build.  People and companies could donate money or pay for one of more than 40 components, including a pirate ship, wave slide, balance beams, fire pole, bouncy bridge, smile house, and tot tunnel.  And volunteers -- so far about 400 volunteers have been involved with the project in one way or another.

Today two things are needed -- more volunteers and many more money .  Leathers and Associates owner Marc Leathers says he wants to average between 80 to 100 volunteers per shift.  Thursday morning only about 40 came.  He noted that a small crew got three quarters of the posts installed in the rain Wednesday, which he says is remarkable for that small a crew.


"We definitely could use more people," he says.  "The crowd that we have has worked hard, and we're keeping above water.  But we're hoping more will come for the night shifts.  We'd like to double our numbers if we could somehow.  If you have two hours, come down -- we'll put you to work and it will make a difference."

Volunteers led by the Lansing Community Council have held more than a dozen fundraising events for the playground.  As of this writing $114,704 of the $138,500 goal had been raised.  321 Facebook members 'like' the playground project.  450 people came to the last event at Crossroads Restaurant, with 147 kids signing in.  Leathers says most communities raise the entire dollar goal before the build but a quarter to a third don't.  Those communities almost always reach their goal during the build.  The visual of the playground going up inspires people to help close the financial gap.


For the volunteers who did come Wednesday and yesterday there was a palpable excitement throughout the site.  Workers were focused on their projects, sharing the fun of working together, being with people they know and meeting new people with the shared goal of bringing an amazing playground to their community.  Leathers says he hopes they will tell co-workers and friends about the experience to encourage them to come help as well.

"People will go back and say they had a blast," he says.  "There are other people who didn't come down because they didn't know if they wanted to do that.  But they'll probably come for the next round when they hear how much fun it is."

The best word to describe the scene is 'bustle'.  While one group installed posts, another worked under a tent assembling pieces of the components that will make up the finished playground.  An enormous stack of different colored engineered structural plastic boards and smaller decking-sized boards are being cut to size and assembled with 50,000 screws.  560 16 foot 2x6s and 140 2x4s are being used for framing.  For the decking alone there are 240 16 foot 2x6 treads.  All the boards are made of a composite plastic.  240 holes held structural posts.  320 linear feet of fence will be erected.  Gravel, fabric, and 11,580 square feet of ground cover will raise the ground level by 16 inches.  Leathers says that will start today.


Meanwhile volunteers signed in at a tent by the park ring road, mosaics were assembled for entry signs in the 'art tent', while another pavilion offered food.  Everyone was put to work.


Only four people are on site from Leathers and Associates.  Leathers says that normally there are two, but it's easier for more to come because the company is based in Lansing.  He says former employees are also volunteering to help.  The company provides the staging to get things ready for the volunteer build days, as well as the model, the sequence of projects, and guidance to build the playground.

To meet the goal of finishing on Sunday, Leathers says that it's simple: more people are needed.  He says that some jobs are simply three day jobs, so it is important to get the first part done before the weekend.


"For me it's about the nights," he says.  "I know people work during the day, but if we can have a big night tonight and a big night tomorrow night it's going to make all the difference in the world."

Anyone can volunteer simply by showing up.  There is no requirement to sign up beforehand.  Leathers stresses that the project is community driven, and all the funding, tools, materials, and labor come from the community, making the project more a labor of love, a unique community-building experience, and saving a significant amount of the cost of building a state-of-the-art playground.

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