'Everything's Going To Be Perfect' | New Playground Built For Students At Maree G. Farring Elementary And Middle School
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Kids in south Baltimore are getting a new place to play.
After an arsonist destroyed one of the only remaining playgrounds in the neighborhood, volunteers stepped to the plate for the kids of Brooklyn.
The playground was built in a day at Maree G. Farring Elementary School thanks to a grant from Kaboom and the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund.
"You know, money that we have for our kids that we're funded with, we want to spend on academic materials and staffing," the school principal said. "So it was great to be able to pay with a $130,000 playground and not have any of it come out of our regular fund."
The playground is filling a huge need for kids. The old set had only one platform and one slide for as many as 80 kids at recess.
The next closest playground at Garret Park was set on fire and shut down six weeks ago.
"I'm most excited for us to have the cubbies and the shade area," a student said. "Our old playground was dirty, messed u, everything was kind of a little bit loose. But now since we're getting a new one, everything's going to be perfect and cool."
What makes the project perfect is the students helped design it by voting on features.
"The playground that we're building today isn't just any playground picked out of a catalog," Jacob Stachler, of Kaboom, said. "It's 100 percent unique playground designed by kids of this community for the kids of this community."
Kaboom has plans for several other playgrounds in Baltimore this year. The playground will be open for play right away.
