Youth group restores playground for neighborhood

By MEGHAN DURBAK
Tribune staff writer

July 23, 2008 11:22 pm

— When Jeremy Jones arrived at the Maple Lawn Trailer Court in Miami County, he noted the pathetic state of the playground.
The dirt and empty frames acted as testimony to the diminishing quality of life in the neighborhood over the years.
There was a swing set with no swings, except the infant carrier loosely attached to the metal frame by a rope. The rest had disappeared long ago.
Jones realized the neighborhood had nearly 100 young children, and nowhere for them to play.
That’s why Jones, the youth pastor for First Baptist Church of Galveston, and the youth group DV8, decided to sponsor a mission trip to the trailer court.
“There are glaring needs out here,” Jones said. “We’re the church people look to for help.”
Fifteen youth and three adults from First Baptist arrived at the trailer court, prepared to dig holes, build picnic tables and paint a mural. The church raised $3,000 for the project completed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
The residents were ready to embrace them.
“It’s fantastic,” said Heather Turner, who’s lived in the trailer court for a year. “It gives the children a place to go where they don’t resort to drugs. It gives smaller children a safe haven.”
Debbie Rosa, a resident of 16 years, recalled when the neighborhood children gathered at the playground before equipment were torn down.
She said her daughter and other children pitched in to help the youth group.
“They’re already enjoying it. ... The greatest thing is to see all the little ones out here and trying to help.”
Rosa and Turner said the children only have a few choices on how to spend their time: They can ride their bikes on the road where motorists often speed, stay around their homes or get in trouble.
Now the children will have a safe place to play. The youth group set about making a tether ball court, monkey bars, tire forts and revamping the swing set.
The residents weren’t the only ones to enjoy the project. Youth group member Hunter Keith, 17, was willing to test out the new equipment, sitting inside a pile of tires.
“It’s just hot in this thing,” he said. Keith was holding the tires together so they could be turned into miniature forts.
“It’s a blast,” he said.
Like Keith, Nik Jones, 16, looked forward to the project. “A lot of these kids don’t have much to do. A lot of them get into trouble. This is good for them,” he said.
While many of the members were busy building, Mallory Wisler, 18, set her sights on the wall. Paint brush in hand, she went to work on the mural the church planned to leave for the children in the trailer court.
“I love to paint. I love to work with my hands. It’s for the right reasons,” she said.
Wisler is hoping these children will enjoy the playground and mural as much as she has. “I’m a little kid at heart,” she said. “I still love to come to play places. They needed something.”

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