You can help with Oakwood Park's makeover

Help revitalize Oakwood Park: volunteer for a playground build on 10/31 or 11/2

Over 200 volunteers are needed on October 31st and November 2nd to revitalize downtown Durham and help create an amazing new community-built playspace in Oakwood Park at the corner of Holloway and Dillard/Oakwood streets. Be a part of this incredible project, planned and organized by Cleveland-Holloway neighbors, in partnership with the City of Durham Parks and Recreation Department, Keep Durham Beautiful, KaBOOM!, ABC11 and The Walt Disney Company. Bring your enthusiasm – no building skills are necessary!

Volunteer opportunities are described below. To volunteer, please fill out our online form. A volunteer coordinator will contact you prior to build day to confirm your participation.

Prep day volunteers, Thursday, October 31, 8am to 5pm

Prep Day volunteers work on getting all of the materials ready for the Build Day. They split into teams based on what people feel comfortable with and excited about. The team tasks may include, but are not limited to:

• Unloading and inventorying the playground equipment truck, The Home Depot delivery, and tools.
• Sorting the parts and hardware for sections of the playground so that Build Day teams have everything they need – each section will be packaged at a kit for teams to construct on the build day.
• Cutting wood and sorting hardware for constructing the benches and other side projects – each bench, table, etc. will be packaged as a kit for teams to construct on the build day. All the wood will be cut on Prep Day, so the only power tools used on site on Build Day can be drills.
• Painting/prepping materials for the children’s projects – which may include stepping stones, small murals, etc.
• Sorting and prepping garden materials and getting the gardens ready for planting.
• Helping the hole digging team preparing the site for posts that will be set; potentially setting some posts that need to be in early

Build Day volunteers, Saturday, November 2, 8am to 3pm

In a matter for hours, we will build a brand new playground designed by children in our community and have tons of fun! Build Day volunteers will be randomly assigned to teams when they arrive (by a sticker on their nametag). These teams will have a wide variety of tasks, which could include:  

• Playground component assembly and installation
• Mulch movement onto the playground footprint
• Cement mixing and pouring to put the posts and side projects in place
• Landscaping and gardening (moving dirt for gardens, planting things, etc.)
• Building lumber side projects (i.e. benches, picnic tables, etc.)
• Painting (asphalt games, decorative items)
• Food preparation and service
• Safety support
• Registration table
• Youth supervision

Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Volunteers may move around if their initial task is finished and a different team could use support. All volunteers will be a part of clean-up team.