The groundbreaking for the future Brooks YMCA playground included small, child-sized shovels decorated with red ribbon digging into the spot where the future playground would sit. The Brooks YMCA is located in Jacksonville, FL. The whole event was a relief to the fundraising, planning, and organization committee, which had worked tireless for months to get to this point. For members like Delta Fountains’ President, Joe Petry, this event was close to home.
As a long-standing member of the YMCA, Joe and his family have been an active part of both their local YMCA and of the whole First Coast organization. Brooks is the YMCA that Joe, his wife, his children, and now his grandchildren attend. Joe has participated in other activities with the YMCA, such as guest speaking at a major conference, The Faculty Summit 2016 in New York.
When the planning committee decided to create a playground, they were just beginning the long process of finding funding. They originally brought the idea to their own members, as well as local business owners within the Jacksonville community. To promote the playground to the community and club members, the committee created a short video with children from their branch to show how eager the kids were to get a playground.
