ESHC's Playground Receives a Refresh

This is a wonderful example of The Giving Circle’s exponential reach.

For the past few years, the Marsh Creek Women’s Association and St. Catherine’s Guild have supported the Emergency Services and Homeless Coalition monetarily and with tangible gifts of food, clothing, household items, equipment, etc.

Recently, eight Brothers of St. Andrew and two men from Marsh Creek volunteered to address the deteriorating condition and general upkeep of the playground equipment at the Homeless Coalition and Emergency Services.

The scope of work included upgrading the basketball court and five pieces of playground equipment.  The project began with pressure-washing the basketball court, the slide assembly, the rocking horses, and two swing and climbing units.  As the work began, it became clear that the two swing and climbing units required major wood replacement to make them safe for the children.

One of the two basketball backboards donated by the March Creek Women’s Association was fitted with mounting hardware and installed at the north end of the basketball court.  This freed up the temporary backboard assembly to be relocated and lowered for the smaller children.  The south backboard will be installed within the next few weeks.

As is often the case in addressing deteriorated equipment, the scope of the project expanded as the deteriorated boards were removed.  It was discovered that one unit’s climbing wall needed new support beams and the support brackets for the other unit’s elevated play platform needed to be replaced, as well.  Field fitting repairs always take a bit longer than originally expected.  Never-the-less, the volunteers on the project happily applied their numerous skills to rebuild the units.

The boards on the top platforms and climbing walls, and the boards for the platform fall protection system were replaced with new, thicker boards.  The climbing cleats on the climbing walls were reused and installed on the heavier duty climbing walls.  A five-step rope ladder was also replaced with new steps and rope.  Getting all of those knots in the right places is harder than you might think!  The pressure-treated lumber used to rebuild the climbing units will need to cure for a few months before painting can be completed.

Thanks to Br. Louie Boulier’s efforts, The Home Depot donated approximately $500 worth of materials for this project.  Additionally, St. Catherine’s Guild donated $200 to this project, which helped cover the cost of additional supplies and fasteners required to complete the repairs.  

It is estimated that a total of 160 manhours were invested in this project.  Even though the scope of the work was more than originally expected, the overall experience was very satisfying for everyone involved.

We are so grateful to the generous and kind hearted men and women who came together to support a very worthy organization, providing safe playground equipment for the children who are living on the Emergency Services and Homeless Coalition campus.

They still need new swings and two new slides as well as a canopy for the playground. If you would like to make a donation for these new purchases, please click the button below.