LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- As the day draws to an end, things begin to take shape at a construction zone outside the Southwest Family YMCA, with a slide, some ladders and some poles forming the skeleton of what will soon be a brand new playground.
"We've had playgrounds here before, nothing this extensive or this nice," Southwest YMCA Executive Director Ronnie McKiernan said.
It is not just the size or the quality that makes this new playground special. The playground is one of more than 60 around the nation that have been built thanks to Carter's Kids, a charity founded by television host Carter Oosterhouse that is committed to giving children safe and engaging places to play.
This is just one of two playgrounds in Kentuckiana being built this weekend with the help of Carter's Kids and the YMCA of Greater Louisville, with a second playground to be built at the Clark County YMCA on Tuesday and Wednesday. AML Construction donated the Bobcat for the projects. Brook and Pam Smith also gave a donation to Carter's Kids for the projects. And it was members of the community, with volunteers representing Humana and Mortenson Dental Partners, among others, working on piecing the playground equipment together.
"Twenty years down the line, our kids can come and play, and I can bring my kids and be like, 'We built this together,'" Noemi Mijares, a volunteer representing Mortensen Dental Partners, said.
McKiernan said the location was chosen by Carter's Kids because of its accessibility to the community, with the hopes that the playground will be busy with children playing. But the playgrounds aim to promote more than just a good time.
"It's to stop child obesity, to get children off of their video games," Kasen Williams, 11, said.
"We thought a great way to do that was to actually not talk about it but build them some playgrounds so they can actually have something to play on, help their core development, their social development," Carter's Kids Executive Director Quay Chilcott said.
"It's a place where you can take your kids, where you can meet other kids, just getting them out there, making sure that they're getting some exercise in, they're being active," Mijares, a mother of two, said.
It's for this reason why volunteers like Kasen spent their Sundays helping to create a safe place for kids to keep active, hoping the few hours of their afternoon make lifetimes of change.
"It's just nice to know you had a little bit to do with that," Mijares said.
The YMCA is still looking for donations of playground mulch, concrete and funding. Volunteers are also needed Monday, July 16, at the Southwest Family YMCA, and Tuesday, July 17, and Wednesday, July 18, at the Clark County YMCA. Anyone interested in volunteering or making a donation can contact Andy Pierce at 502-587-2106.
A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held Thursday morning at the Clark County YMCA. Carter Oosterhouse is expected to be there.