More than 150 volunteers from the Indianapolis Colts and several local partners will come together to build a new playground at Rousseau McClellan School 91, an IPS School in Midtown Indianapolis.
Colts players, Cheerleaders and staff were on hand to work alongside volunteers from Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) and Sinclair Recreation. Other partners include AES Indiana, Ingredion Inc., Legends Global Merchandise, Lucas Oil Products, Purdue University, Shiel Sexton and SRM Concrete. The build is supported in part by Meijer and HotBox Pizza.
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Mary-Kaitlin P. and Lily B.
Andy Schwartz Sr. - Corporate Partnership Executive
Sherard Allen -Manager, Digital Marketing & Media
S Camryn Bynum #0
G Quenton Nelson #56
G Reid Holskey #65
G Dalton Tucker #68
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Kristin Ballard
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
LB Austin Ajiake #58
G Matt Goncalves #71
Kristin Ballard
K Spencer Shrader #3 and TE Drew Ogletree #85
K Spencer Shrader #3
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation and Ande Sadtler - Director of Community Impact
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation and Ande Sadtler - Director of Community Impact
David Liptak - Executive Assistant and Blake Heitman - Partnership Marketing Manager
S Camryn Bynum #0 and Kristin Ballard
S Camryn Bynum #0
G Quenton Nelson #56
G Quenton Nelson #56
G Dalton Tucker #68 and LB West Weeks #47
G Dalton Tucker #68 and LB West Weeks #47
David Liptak - Executive Assistant, Megan Imbach - Partnership & Marketing Intern, Colin Burns - Senior Events Coordinator, Sherard Allen -Manager, Digital Marketing & Media and Jacob Sheff - Manager of Special Projects and Historical Affairs
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Kristin Ballard
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
G Jalen Farmer #62
TE Drew Ogletree #85 and K Spencer Shrader #3
K Spencer Shrader #3 and Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
K Spencer Shrader #3, Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation and TE Drew Ogletree #85
K Spencer Shrader #3, Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation and TE Drew Ogletree #85
TE Drew Ogletree #85 and Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
TE Drew Ogletree #85 and Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
TE Drew Ogletree #85 and Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
K Spencer Shrader #3, Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation and TE Drew Ogletree #85
K Spencer Shrader #3, Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation and TE Drew Ogletree #85
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation, T Nolan Rucci #76 and TE Drew Ogletree #85
RB Anderson Castle #42
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
C Sedrick Van Pran-Granger #63
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation, Claire Kirby - Community Impact Manager and Ande Sadtler - Director of Community Impact
Last year, Colts safety Cam Bynum was focused on getting himself and his family settled in a new city, so he didn't end up helping with the annual Playground Build. Now that he's settled in Indianapolis, Bynum wants to make an impact in the community.
"I want to make it my goal to be able to give back in whatever way I can," Bynum said Tuesday. "I know kids are going to enjoy being able to use the things that we build."
This year's site of the annual Playground Build was Rousseau McClellan School 91 in Midtown Indianapolis, the 18th school to receive a playground in the history of the event. More than 150 Colts players, cheerleaders and staff worked alongside volunteers from Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) and Sinclair Recreation, as well as from partners including Lucas Oil Products, AES Indiana, Ingredion Inc., Legends Global Merchandise, Purdue University, Shiel Sexton, and SRM Concrete. The build was also supported in part by Meijer and HotBox Pizza.
Each year, the Colts community impact team works with the IPS district to select an elementary school to build at. Rousseau McClellan School 91 was the winner this year, but principal Kathy Lause didn't know the extent of the build right away.
"We knew we were getting playground updates, and we knew we had a really significant sponsor," Lause said. "They didn't tell us it was the Colts right away so that was kind of a surprise."
One almost non-negotiable when planning what the new playground would look like: a swing set. Lause has gotten multiple letters across her 13-year tenure asking to get swings. The size, cost and other elements of the old playground were barriers for them. Until now. In fact, Bynum didn't leave until the swings were done.
"I was glad I was able to make swings today because that was my No. 1 thing on the playground as a kid," Bynum said. "I was thinking about all the flashbacks of me jumping off the swings and standing up on them."
When collaborating on the project, Lause also wanted to ensure the new structures were safe and easily accessible for all of her students.
"We have some students who are in wheelchairs and have other things that make it difficult for them to get around our old playground," Lause said. "Now, there's a walkway that goes from the blacktop to the track area."
As the build went on outside, students got to watch one of Blue's famous school shows in the school's gym.
Sinclair Recreation travels throughout the country each year to build new playgrounds. As the partnership with the Colts has continued, owner Richard Sinclair and his team have been able to expand their outreach and goals.
"We're able to service more needs of the children in the schools and communities," Sinclair said. "We're doing more equipment and we have more partner participation than we ever have before, so we were able to get more done with more help from the partner organizations."
