On August 23^rd, Mercy Housing Lakefront, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM! will work with community members, volunteers and residents to build a new playground at the Pullman Wheelworks Apartments. The completed playground will provide more than 200 children at the building with a new, safe place to play.

In June, the youth at the building put crayon to paper to draw their dream playground, which will ultimately become a reality. The final playground design incorporates elements from the children’s drawings as well as input from parents and staff at the building.

In order to make this project a success, Mercy Housing Lakefront is seeking volunteers to help at the Build Day event on August 23^rd. In addition, in-kind donations such as tools, lunch, snacks, or DJ services will also be crucial to a safe and fun Build Day. If you would like to participate, please complete the volunteer form here. If you would like to make an in-kind or monetary donation, please contact Janet Dahlstrom at jdahlstrom@mercyhousing.org.

Mercy Housing Lakefront began renovating the historic Pullman Wheelworks Apartments in January 2012, and is nearing completion of the project.

“We are so thrilled to be improving the play space at our building,” said Renee Arnold, Pullman Wheelworks  Apartments Property Manager. “The children and parents are beyond excited to have a brand-new, safe playground right on the property.”

The project is part of Let’s Play, a community partnership led by Dr Pepper Snapple Group, to get kids and families active nationwide. The first Let’s Play initiative is a $15 million, three-year commitment to KaBOOM!, the national non-profit that’s saving play. Together, through Let’s Play, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM! will build or fix up 2,000 playgrounds by the end of 2013, benefiting an estimated five million children across North America.