The big boom in Belhaven, Aug. 30, 2013

Published 7:07 pm Thursday, August 29, 2013

It’s a cartoonish word — KaBOOM! — one usually delivered in a thought bubble over Wile E. Coyote and whatever ACME device he has in hand.

But the big explosion happening courtesy of KaBOOM! (a builder of playgrounds) and the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust (a funder of playgrounds, in this case) is the explosion of cooperation surrounding the building of a new playground in Belhaven.

A team of volunteers in Belhaven has less than eight weeks to find $8,500 to pay for the playground. That’s certainly achievable given that eight churches, the Belhaven Community Chamber of Commerce, the Belhaven-Pantego Rotary and Belhaven Alumni Association are all on board. The town has donated the land for the 2,500-square-foot playground to be located at Bay and Railroad streets.

But the Team Coalition, consisting of all those organizations, also has less than eight weeks to find 200 volunteers to actually build the playground.

When was the last time you saw 200 people in one place? It may have been at last week’s Downtown Motown, a recent wedding, a graduation or festival of some sort. That kind of crowd usually can only be found at some type of celebration.

When was the last time you saw 200 people working together — physically working — for a cause? That’s not likely to be seen very often.

But rather than view Build Day (Oct. 26) as a physical chore, potential volunteers should look at “the day the playground was built” as a celebration of life and youth, of health and freedom. And who doesn’t like a good party?

Gather your group of friends, or family, or both, and help Belhaven build a playground. Showing up and taking part can only lead to an explosion — KaBOOM! — of good will.

To volunteer to help build Belhaven’s playground, call Lisa Woolard at 252-945-3156 or email her at lisa@beaufortcountykids.org.