July 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 12

Front Page
Sandy Ground

A group of New Jersey firefighters pays homage to the victims of the Sandy Hook
shooting by building one playground in memory of each victim
By Peter Magnuson

wo Sandies dominated national news in the last quarter of 2012: Hurricane
Sandy, which pummeled the entire Atlantic seaboard in late October with
the most significant damage in New Jersey and New York, and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in mid-December, which claimed 26 lives in
Newtown, Connecticut. With both catastrophic events occurring in the tri-state area
within just a few short weeks, many local residents felt at a loss for how to respond.
Bill Lavin, president of the New Jersey State Firefighters' Mutual Benevolent Association (NJSFMBA), felt this
helplessness in the wake of the double
disasters. " With these two tragedies
occurring so close together, our firefighters and our communities were
stunned and overwhelmed, " he says.
A call from a Mississippi businessman
reminded Lavin of how the NJSFMBA
had helped support the rebuilding of
playgrounds following Hurricane Katrina. That was the spark he needed. " I
thought if we could build playgrounds,
we could honor the victims while helping
to rebuild our communities, " Lavin says.

With that thought, the Sandy
Ground Project was born. The goal
of the project is to construct or rehabilitate 26 playgrounds in the tristate area, each dedicated to a victim
of Sandy Hook. But these are not
cookie-cutter playgrounds. " Each
playground is designed to reflect the
personality of the victim, " Lavin says.
That is why Emilie Parker's park has
so much shade, Jack Pinto's has a
football theme and Chase Kowalski's has fitness stations. " The families
wanted to celebrate the lives of their
loved ones, and we wanted to honor
that, " he says.

It is because of this commitment
to honor that all 26 families have
agreed to participate in the project.
And they get a huge say in each design - from location to playground
elements. " Our only criteria are that
the family has some connection to
the location and that the community
accepts it, " Lavin says.
Having community involvement
has been a key element to the success
of the project. " In addition to Giordano Contracting, our main construction and on-the-ground partner, we
have worked with dozens of partners
on each playground, " Lavin says.
Those partners range from schools
to foundations to private businesses to park and recreation agencies.
" We have found absolute enthusiasm
from the park and recreation departments, " he continues. " They have
been phenomenal partners. "
According to Lavin, the total project will cost around $3 million, and
they have a goal of completing the
last one by the anniversary of Sandy
Hook. " It is an aggressive goal, " he
admits. " But when families come up
to me and say that the park dedication was the best day they have had
since December 14, it makes all the
effort worthwhile. "
To learn more about the project,
and to donate, visit www.thesandy
groundproject.org.
Peter Magnuson is NRPA's Director of
Marketing (pmagnuson@nrpa.org).

Parks & Recreation

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July 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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