Haverhill Needs 815 Volunteers to Build $400K Playground

When Brittany Safy asked Golden Hill Elementary students to draw their dream playground, she got back designs full of castle towers, climbing walls, and secret hideouts. Now those dreams are about to become real wood and steel.

The $400,000 community playground in Haverhill, Massachusetts starts construction on October 20th. Parents already raised every dollar needed, but there's a catch: they need 815 volunteers to build it in just six days.

So far, nearly 200 people have signed up. That's 25% of the way there, with volunteers committing everything from four-hour shifts to full days of hammering, painting, and assembly.

The playground isn't just for students. During school hours, kids will have access to accessible ramps, sensory play areas, multiple swing sets, and those multi-level castle towers they sketched. After the bell rings and on weekends, it becomes a gathering space for families across the community.

Play By Design, the playground company, visited classrooms to collect student drawings. Those crayon sketches and marker doodles directly shaped the final design, giving kids ownership over a space they'll use for years.

The Ripple Effect

This project shows what happens when one parent's vision meets community determination. Safy started this effort last winter, coordinating fundraising and design while rallying other parents who refused to quit.

State Representative Andy X. Vargas put it simply: signing up means your effort gets "etched into Haverhill's history." Every volunteer becomes part of the story behind every kid who climbs those towers or races down the slides.

The building schedule runs Tuesday through Sunday, with most volunteers needing to be 18 or older. The exception is Family Build Night on Friday, October 23rd from 5 to 8 p.m., when younger helpers can join their parents.

You don't need construction skills. Organizers need people to prepare food for builders, watch young children, and help with dozens of tasks that keep a project this size moving. Even a single four-hour shift makes a measurable difference.

Ward 3 City Councilor Devan M. Ferreira called it "a gift to our community that touches the lives of generations to come." The playground will serve students and families long after these six days of building.

Volunteers can sign up at haverhillcommunityplay.com/volunteer, and the site still accepts donations for anyone who wants to contribute but can't swing a hammer.