Colts, Sinclair Recreation hold 18th annual…

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.”