When students heard of the vandalism that heavily damaged their playground at Wea Ridge Elementary School, they were understandably upset. Some students decided to take action: one family donated money from a weekend lemonade stand, while a Boy Scout stepped up his planned Eagle Scout project.

McCutcheon senior Bryan Blanchard used stencils to paint different games on the blacktop outside the school. “I was inspired to do this because my mother and the other fifth grade teachers wanted the stencils repainted after the blacktop was repaved. I was looking for a meaningful project and wanted to give kids a place to play. I thought the stencils would be a lot of fun for them.”

Bryan says the project was planned for later in the fall, but he moved up the timeline when he saw the damage. “Once I saw the playground was vandalized, I went to my Scout Troop to see how many people could be available on Labor Day weekend. I had several volunteers who helped me over the weekend.” 

Just days after vandalism to their playground made the news, Lydia and Parker Ziulkowski set up a lemonade stand in their neighborhood to raise money toward repairs. The students delivered their profits to Principal Clint Wilson:

“We are grateful for the hard work and kindness of Lydia and Parker as they sold lemonade to raise more than $60 for the playground," says Wilson.