Make a Difference Day Service Project at Rose Playground

This year’s Make a Difference Day 2010 took place on October 23. Make a Difference Day is “a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors” and is the nation’s largest day of service! * For our project, the Playworks Philly crew traveled to the Overbrook section of the city – one of Philadelphia’s westernmost neighborhoods.

The day took place at Rose Playground, an expansive open space with a lovely playground structure located just off 75^th Street. We worked under the welcoming leadership and guidance of the Overbrook Civic Association, a neighborhood organization seeking to keep their surroundings “safe, clean and attractive.”

“Avoid the Ouch!” were some of the first words uttered by our project leader for the day. Keeping this important safety motto in mind, we geared up for the day’s tasks. The objective? To lend a hand in providing this neighborhood-cherished green space with a physical rejuvenation! We got down to business pretty quickly, dividing up into smaller AC/PC squads to accomplish everything from trash pick-up, sweeping, weed-whacking, branch-cutting, and, sadly, the removal of a fallen squirrel.

Though the park’s vast space necessitated us to spread out for the majority of the day, the event concluded with a heartfelt group wrap-up lead by one of the neighborhood members spearheading the project. We felt the love as gratitude and recognition were given to all of the day’s helpers – a merger of service-oriented citizens looking to Make a Difference!

*taken from http://www.usaweekend.com/section/MDDAY

-Written from Playworks Philly by Program Coordinator Lisa Frank