Allendale donors, volunteers build new playground
The children of Allendale Association in Lake Villa needed a new playground. The existing one - a depressing 1980s affair of weathered wood and metal - was hardly bringing smiles to kids already grappling with severe learning and behavioral challenges.
"Upgrading the campus play area for our younger youth was long overdue," said Jason Keeler, president/CEO of The Allendale Association. "So, we're thrilled to make this a long-awaited reality."
It started last summer when Keurig Dr Pepper and the national nonprofit KaBOOM! awarded a Let's Play Community Construction Grant to Allendale, which serves residential and day students from throughout Illinois.
Soon, additional donors - including Aon, Andrew & Alice Fischer Charitable Trust, The Donald E. Ray Charitable Fund, Full Circle Foundation, George M. Eisenberg Foundation for Charities, GMR Marketing, Grainger, Grussel Insurance Consultants, 100 Women Who Care, and 31 other friends of Allendale - made generous gifts of their own.
In addition, a number of local companies - Diemer Plumbing & Excavation Ltd., The Home Depot, Jewel Osco, Thelen Sand and Gravel Inc., and Walmart - pitched in with gift-in-kind donations.
Allendale kids played a key role, too. The playground's designer, Play Illinois, invited a student focus group to help create the design and choose the equipment. One classroom created a fundraising video to support the cause.
Once the design was approved and supplies were acquired, waves of Allendale employees and volunteers - including corporate teams from Allstate, Aon and Kohl's - descended on the site to prepare the grounds and assemble the equipment.
Guided by Glen Phillips of Allendale's Facilities team and professional installers from Play Illinois, volunteers dug holes, mixed and poured concrete, sorted hundreds of equipment parts, and ultimately assembled the new equipment, while assisting with other work on the grounds. The students helped, too, supplying energy drinks to workers over the course of several days.
"It was hard, physical work," Kohl's volunteer Rosa Morales said. "And, of course, the rain and mud didn't help. But everyone pulled together and, at the end of the day, it's incredibly gratifying to build something shiny, new and exciting for kids."
The playground awaits a few final touches. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for next month.
While the new playground will offer children many hours of fun, according to Allendale's staff, it also offers therapeutic value.
"Physical play time lets kids experience the simple joy of being a kid - which is crucial for children healing from past traumas," Keeler said.
"Having the community come together to build this brand-new playground tells them they are important and loved."
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