250 Volunteers Set to Build Playground View Full Caption

PORTAGE PARK — More than 250 volunteers have signed up to build a new playground at O.A. Thorp Scholastic Academy Aug. 9, and transform the "barren asphalt landscape" around the Portage Park school.

A grant from KaBoom!, funded by Dr Pepper and Snapple, will provide between $200,000 and $250,000 to build a playground for Thorp's 832 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

After an opening ceremony, work on the red-and-blue playground will begin at 8 a.m. Aug. 9 and will be finished by lunchtime, said Katie Madden, a member of Friends of Thorp, a parent group.

After the hard work is done, KaBoom! and Dr Pepper and Snapple will host a celebration, including bouncy houses, obstacle courses and face painting at Thorp, 6024 W. Warwick Ave.

Construction of the playground is the first major step in implementing a $2 million master plan created more than a year ago that is designed to transform what Principal Efren Toledo called the "barren asphalt landscape" that now surrounds the school.

An online vote chose the design of the playground, which will feature a steel spider web designed to allow children of all ages and abilities to play together off the ground.

It also features a Superdome, a semi-spherical jungle gym designed to develop coordination and body strength.

Last week, Chicago Public School officials began the excavation and preparation of the playground site, which will feature a soft rubber surface.

In addition to winning the grant from KaBoom! worth between $200,000 and $250,000, Friends of Thorp raised $50,000 for the campus park plan. Ald. Tim Cullerton (38th) contributed another $50,000.

Without the KaBoom! grant, Thorp students would have had to wait until 2018 for a playground to be built, according to Chicago Public Schools officials.

Along with a playground, plans call for a grassy field for soccer and other sports, benches and an improved running track.

In addition, the master plan envisions a rain garden with natural plants and birdhouses to help students learn about science, as well as natural play areas.

For more information, email thorpplayground@gmail.com.

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