Thousands of happy kids in Rockland, Massachusetts, ushered in summer with a brand-new, eco-friendly playground, thanks to Yokohama Tire Corp. (YTC). YTC partnered with KaBOOM!, Sullivan Tire Co., the Rockland Park Department, Town of Rockland and Play Areas for Rockland Kids (P.A.R.K.) to build the playground in a single day.

“We had more than 200 volunteers from the community join in on the effort to build the playground at Hartsuff Park,” said Alan Holtschneider, director of marketing for Yokohama. “We’re glad our partners, especially Paul Sullivan and Sullivan Tire, were very active from the planning phase to seeing the project through. Everyone went the extra mile.”

The build is part of YTC’s ongoing partnership commitment with KaBOOM!, the national non-profit dedicated to ensuring that all kids get the balanced and active play needed to thrive. Once Rockland was identified as a potential build site, Holtschneider said Sullivan Tire Co. quickly jumped on board.

“What an amazing day for Rockland children and their families,” said Paul Sullivan, vice president of marketing at Sullivan Tire. “Many thanks to all the hard-working volunteers, and to Yokohama and KaBOOM! for offering us this wonderful opportunity to support the town that we were founded in. Rockland is very near and dear to our hearts and the new playground will be a huge benefit to keeping kids active and healthy.”

Yokohama, Sullivan Tire and KaBOOM! met with local parents and their children months earlier to design the playground and pick out color schemes and equipment for the kids to play on, including new, environmentally safe, “Cradle to Cradle”-certified playground apparatuses from Playworld Systems.

“Rockland was glad to provide the land and Park Department resources for the new playground,” said Allan Chiocca, Rockland town administrator. “This is an incredible addition to the recreation opportunities for children and families in Rockland.”

P.A.R.K. was instrumental in recruiting local volunteers for the build and contributing financially. “The community really came together for this important project,” said Janelle Hussey, P.A.R.K. president.

Holtschneider said another build with KaBOOM! will be announced in the future.

“Thanks to Yokohama, Sullivan Tire and our Rockland partners in helping us bring balanced and active play to kids,” said Lysa Ratliff, KaBOOM! vice president, corporate partnerships. “The work we do could not happen without the support of our incredible partners. Today was a total team effort.”