The Salvation Army Joliet Corps Community Center was in a bind. While the Joliet, IL chapter of the well-known charitable organization was successfully helping meet the basic social services needs of local Will and Kendall County residents, their facility was missing a key element-a children's playground.

 
When the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down, many organizations had to come up with creative solutions for serving their communities. The Greater Joliet Area YMCA was no exception, so they partnered with the Joliet Salvation Army in 2020 to host outdoor daycare and summer programs for area youth. But with only a small lawn space, it quickly became clear that a playground for local children was sorely needed.
By early 2022, the YMCA and Joliet's Salvation Army pursued and were awarded a Community Development Block Grant of $100,000 to create a playground. Although that sounds like a lot of money, more money would be needed to complete a project of its magnitude. Joliet's branch of the Kiwanis Club heard about the need and got involved. They started raising money, but only about $20,000 could be raised at that time, falling short of the necessary funds.
Enter Upland Design, a professional park planning and landscape architecture firm with offices in Chicago and Plainfield, Illinois. Upland's mission is to create outdoor spaces that engage communities, improve quality of life, and encourage people to go outside. When they learned about the Salvation Army playground project, they couldn't pass up the opportunity to help local youth, so they got to work right away donating their time and materials. Partnering with Illinois-based surveying company JLH Land Surveying, who also donated their time, Upland began the playground planning and design process in April of 2022.
Following their usual process even for this pro-bono effort, Upland opened the project up for bidding to local contractors, made sure the necessary permits were obtained, and presented Joliet's Salvation Army with five playground design options from which to choose. The best part? Local children had a say, as they were allowed to pick their favorite from the options narrowed down by staff.
By the end of 2022, construction on the playground was completed. Other Joliet-area organizations generously donated more items to improve the space, such as seating options, picnic tables, trees, and landscaping. The site was finished in early 2023, with a grand opening, dedication, and ribbon-cutting celebration held on May 7, 2023.
While all Landscape Architects share a goal of improving the appearance and function of outdoor spaces, some also pursue a more personal mission of serving their communities. Thanks to Upland Design and other altruistic partners, the children who frequent Joliet's Salvation Army branch now have an outdoor space of which they can be proud.