New playground for Woman's Shelter

About 11 years ago a small group of my friends were given the opportunity to take an outdoor area used to dump trash and turn it into a play area for moms and kids in a domestic violence shelter.  We have always had a heart for kids, especially the most vulernable, so we were excited  to step up and make it into a beautiful space complete with a play set, basketball hoop, new sod and a covered area for the moms to relax and grill.

Fast forward to today and we were asked to do it again.  The transitory nature of temporary housing had meant no one person was caring for the sod (it died quickly) and the area had again fallen into disarray complete with very large rats.  (I've met them in person!)  None of the moms wanted to go outside anymore and they certainly didn't want their kids out there either.

So, this time we were determined to find a low maintenance alternative that could survive the Chicago weather, and look good year after year. 

With that in mind, I called a Sport Court of Chicago  and met Nate, at the site. This amazing guy had never met me, did not know this shelter, and was still determined to help me make this space beautiful and functional for the residents.  So far he has spent countless hours figuring out how to build and provide a safe, clean and inviting space for all the moms and kids, not because it will benefit him or his company, but because he cares about these families.

Nate's solution is a concrete base (we solve a lot of the rat problem with this), with a sport court on top.  We'd like to finish the area with a new Costco gazebo, and garden furniture, a small storage unit for the kids toys, a new basketball hoop, and some planters to grow fresh herbs and flowers.  If we have any extra money, we'd love to get some new, gently used outdoor toys for the kids.  

We have already done our clean up, filled up a whole dumpster with junk from the yard, and repainted the old play set (I'm hoping to get a few more years before we need to replace it.)  The area is ready to be graded and finished off!

So far, a wonderful construction company has generously donated the concrete, Weber has donated a new grill, and the crew is deeply discounting their time and work, but we still need about $7-8k more to really finish off the space.  We are trying to move ahead in the next two weeks so that the residents will have most of the summer to enjoy this space.  

If you would donate any amount so we can make this play yard happen, we would be so grateful.  The parks in the neighborhood have active gang activity, so this space will be a safe, clean, fun and inviting area for both moms and kids.  Any amount would help us make this happen for these moms and kids who so desperately need a little beauty in their lives.

Thank you so much for reading this and considering helping us make this happen!

With much love and thanks,

Jan and so many of my awesome friends