Last week, we dropped by the Philadelphia Eagles Playground Build, this year at Comegys Elementary in Southwest Philly. This was the 16th annual playground build from the Eagles and the Eagles Youth Partnership, a non-profit entity associated with the Eagles that serves over 50K low income children every year.

The extremely large schoolyard, just a couple of blocks from Kingsessing Park, was previously a desert of pavement. This means that children have been spending recess time in a glorified parking lot for many years.

In the past

Another angle

On May 30th, the entire Eagles organization, from owner Jeffrey Lurie, to backup quarterback Mike Kafka, descended upon Comegys to make the schoolyard a better place for the kids. A large turf surface was installed, which will allow kids to harmlessly take a tumble while catching a ball. For the younger kids, a play area that would be the envy of children on the Main Line will add more fun to recess time. New landscaping and a school garden were planted, adding greenery as well as a potential new teaching tool. And a giant mural, mostly designed by Comegys students, was painted along several sides of the building. Think about how much nicer it will be for kids to walk into this school, and for members of the community to walk by this transformed schoolyard.

Here are some photos of the Eagles, helping out at the Schoolyard build. Thankfully, most of them were simply painting the mural, rather than lugging any heavy equipment. Wouldn’t want to pull anything during the offseason…

Lots of volunteers painting

More painting

A couple of rather large offensive linemen painting

Part of the play area, mid-installation

Another part of the play area going up. Todd Herremans hauling cement. Get that man a paintbrush!

The new turf, and some guys drumming

The new school garden

Not only did the kids get a day they’ll never forget, but the neighborhood has gotten a newly enhanced public space for years to come. We commend the Eagles Youth Partnership on a job well done, and we thank the Eagles for making this effort to give back to the community.