Project Playground

One local college class initially began working on a project-- simply to get a good grade. But they soon found out the grade wasn`t the most important thing. "I think it`s cool because people use to get in the dumpsters and swing in the bars on a trashcan...so I think it`s cool," says Zuleima Guerrero. Fun was the theme of the day as dozens of kids got their first glimpse of their brand new playground here in Springdale. One sociology class at the Northwest Arkansas Community College heard about the lack of equipment in the neighborhood off of 40th Street. "It was old and torn down...the kids were all crying, and trying to play with what was left in the dumpsters," says project leader and student Landra Nickle. Nickle says they have someone to thank for giving them this assignment: "Our professor... we could have gone somewhere else to do a project, but hes the one that saw what was going on in this neighborhood and had the idea to build a big playground." Nickle says this assignment started out as just another grade, but that quickly changed. "It`s been really interesting. It started out as a grade, but that changed as we got closer to this project... these kids are great. They dont deserve to be playing in trash cans and dumpsters." As Nickle and other students put the finishing touches on this new playground, over 50 kids including little Zuleima Guerrero, couldn`t wait to jump on those new swings and play in the sandboxes. And to those students who helped build this playground, Guerrero has this to say: "Thank you! I love the swings and I love how they did it!" Nickle added that they did receive great support as well as generous donations from several local businesses and they are very thankful for everyone`s help within the community.