VOLUNTEER SPEARHEADS EFFORT TO BUILD NEW PLAYGROUND FOR POLISH ORPHANS
JAN. 29, 2006
LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. – A photograph of a Polish child at an orphanage started Lee’s Summit resident Mark White on an international mission to build a new playground for needy kids in that country.
Since he started that mission last year, White and his wife Nancy have decided to adopt the child from the photograph as well.
On his first trip to Poland in April 2005, Mark joined other members of Lee’s Summit Community Church (1440 S.W. Jefferson) to teach English in the city of Poznan. The trip had nothing to do with playgrounds or orphanages, but volunteers he met there remembered his professional expertise.
White, environmental/risk manager for the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District, is a nationally-known expert on playground safety.
After Mark left, orphanage volunteers e-mailed him images of the orphanage’s outdated and dangerous equipment, which he describes as “one of the few remnants of the Cold War.” One photo in particular became Mark’s inspiration for what he calls “Playgrounds for Poland:” a shy girl of seven named Ania (whom he and Nancy hope to adopt).
Three things spurred Mark on when he returned to Lee’s Summit last April: The memories of up to 40 Polish orphans playing on dangerous equipment, the overwhelming support within the playground industry and the love of God.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate God’s love to these kids in a practical way,” Mark says.
Mark returned to Poland last fall to make a formal proposal to the orphanage administration, which was accepted by bewildered administrators who had trouble believing it was free.
Being a playground expert, Mark knows that new playgrounds are about more than fun.
“If children don’t get opportunities for rigorous climbing, exploring and imaginative play, then some of things that need to happen in the brain won’t happen,” he says. “They need vestibular stimulation — motion — to help various synapses in the brain connect that affect reading and comprehension. That’s why kids need to spin and swing. It’s instinctive.”
This spring, Mark will fly again to Poland to present finalized plans to the orphanage administrators. By fall, a team of six to eight volunteers should be ready for about three days of building the first of two phases in the orphanage’s safe and age-appropriate playground.
Nick Kendall, executive pastor of Lee’s Summit Community Church, praised Mark’s zeal to assist the orphanage.
“Mark recently shared his vision in one of our services and it stirred many people’s hearts,” Nick says. “We’re excited to be a part.”
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Please contact Roy Harryman, director of communications, for more information at 816.524.6786 x104.