Project Spotlights

McLeansboro, IL

Mayor Dick Dietz served as general coordinator for the Kid's Kingdom community-built playground. Most of the funding came from the Bobbye and Jerry Sloan Hand-in-Hand Foundation. It all began with a call from Brian and Kathy Sloan, who grew up in McLeansboro.

Leathers' designer John Dean conducted a Design Day on January 20, 2006. The project was built June 7-11, 2006, with a grand opening celebration the final day of the build. Volunteer numbers averaged 535 a day. "Summer camp" was set up for small children whose parents were volunteering.

In Dick's own words: "It still brings tears to my eyes over what an incredible experience we had. If you never experience this in a lifetime - you are surely missing something." The spirit from the playground build has carried over to other community events. A family was recently burned out of their home and volunteers from Kids' Kingdom jumped in to volunteer and donate items. Dick also noted that "volunteerism in McLeansboro has increased because we came together for this playground project." Dick refuses to take credit for this accomplishment and is quick to point out that his steering committee was incredibly instrumental in making this project successful. He also noted that the playground couldn't have been completed without the construction captains and the strong volunteer support from the community. "This was a community project - it took all of us!"

In November 2007, Governor Rod Blagojevich awarded the annual Governor's Home Town Awards to 40 projects across the state of Illinois for their work "to improve the communities in which they live." One project is awarded the prestigious Governor's Cup Award, and the 2007 award went to Kids' Kingdom Playground.

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