We were thrilled to partner with Lowe’s, Carter’s Kids, more than 130 community volunteers and several local partners and sponsors to complete a massive community project in St. Paul that included a new playground at the Chelsea Heights Elementary School, repairs for three families who live near the school, and improvements at the Northwest Como Recreational Center.
HGTV personality and Carter’s Kids founder, Carter Oosterhouse, worked with volunteers on May 2nd at the playground project; and the project culminated with a ribbon-cutting celebration later that day. Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education Brenda Cassellius, Commissioner of MN Housing Mary Tingerthal, Council Member Russ Stark, and Deputy Superintendent of St. Paul Public Schools Michael Baumann also joined us for the ribbon-cutting celebration.
Jill Gebeke, Principal at Chelsea Heights, sent us a thank you note that said, “The playground is absolutely awesome!!! I was outside at recess today with the kids, and it was absolute chaos (in a good way). We couldn’t have done this without your Rebuilding Together team. On behalf of the students and staff, thank you.”
We also received this thank you note from Lori, one of the homeowners we helped through this project, “Thank you doesn’t even begin to reflect all that we feel! You have put in exhausting hours once our kitchen project got going…Thank you for making it happen! We have been so impressed with everyone we have met from Rebuilding Together. I have bragged about how everyone has been while interacting with my family…including my dog! It says a lot about who you are as individuals. You really care about the families you help!”
We would like to thank everyone who came together to make this project possible, especially the volunteers who worked hard despite the rain, snow and cold weather. We’d also like to thank Lowe’s, Carter’s Kids, the Chelsea Heights Parent Teacher Organization, MN Housing Finance Agency, Metropolitan Council, Wells Fargo, Comcast, McGough Construction, Damon Farber Associates, Valspar, Stouts/Chianti Grille, On Site Sanitation, Linders, Tubby Smith Foundation, Mortenson Construction, Como Park Lutheran, St. Paul Bagelry, Davanni’s, Saint Paul Public Schools, City of Saint Paul, Saint Paul STAR Program, Minnesota Wisconsin Playground, Builders Association of the Twin Cities, Citi Cargo & Storage, Rainbow Foods, and Sinclair Recreation who contributed to this project.