.
WIN Leaders win half a million dollars for playground in Downtown D.C
With all of the development that’s been occurring in downtown DC over the past decade, very little of it provides family-friendly public space. Being downtown with kids makes the possibility of playing in the sunshine a near impossibility.
In the fall of 2011 and spring of 2012, leaders from WIN member congregation Calvary Baptist and Downtown DC kids organized and challenged elected officials to look at the lack of public spaces and playgrounds in the downtown area. What park space there was had not received the attention or development of the surrounding office buildings and condominiums. Although this area is a wonderfully family-friendly neighborhood in so many ways, the children needed a safe place to play.
In the past few years, many children have moved – or been born – into the neighborhood. Hundreds, if not thousands, of additional children go to preschool or elementary school here. And, many thousands of children come to this neighborhood each year as part of their family vacations. Yet, there are no public playgrounds, even at the local schools. Instead, preschool children are walked in circles around the block, elementary school children play in a cramped dark garage-like space, neighborhood children are driven to the suburbs, and tourists don’t stay quite so long.
Through actions such as parades, petition drives, and walking tours with the National Parks Service and councilmember Tommy Wells demonstrating the lack of playgrounds in the area in person, leaders stressed the need and the potential to use underutilized spaces for a playground