“It’s bad enough for children to be born into poverty, but to be born into poverty and war is simply not explainable,” says Keith Reynolds, pushing his coffee cup to the side.
At an age when most of his former forest industry peers are spending their last decade of work amassing more hours at the office, Reynolds has been stumping between Rotary Clubs, town hall meetings and anywhere else he can hustle an audience to present his plea for donations to help build playgrounds for children in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.
In 1985, Reynolds was backpacking in a chilly Europe, so he headed for the much warmer Tel Aviv. It was his first encounter with the Middle East. He started donating to various humanitarian causes, and in 2002 he was invited to go along with a humanitarian medical team to the Palestinian Territories.
It’s hard to hear Reynolds’ lowered voice over the Starbucks buzz, “I saw lots of things…that perhaps are better unseen…
He started attending peace and justice conferences on his holidays. In spring ’06, he was in the West Bank with a friend from the UN when Reynolds asked the question that would begin his new career, “Where do these children play?” After a short silence, Reynolds said he would like to donate three playgrounds. Six months later, he returned to find happy kids playing in a safe environment.
“I came home and decided I’d like to do more of that.” Back in Whistler, while sharing some beers and his recent photos with a friend, his buddy pulled out a $100.00 bill and said, “I’m in.”
With that money entrusted to him, Reynolds did what any entrepreneur would do. He got busy. All playgrounds are built to spec in a competitive bid system, resulting in jobs and pride for local contractors, while the board of Playground Builders makes sure that every donation goes directly to the approximately $5,000.00 – 12,000.00 cost to build each playground. Minimal administrative costs are covered by Reynolds and others, ensuring that every dollar has impact. There are 123 playgrounds built to date.
Reynolds reaches for his coffee. His button-down shirt opens to reveal his T-shirt underneath.
It reads, “Plays Well with Others”.
What a wonderful idea–thanks for publicizing this, Colleen. Having an opportunity to play well with others as children surely helps us ‘play well with others’ as adults!
Agreed Lesley! I love the idea that these children, at least a little while each day, get a chance to have fun. I can’t imagine the ongoing stress of an existence that includes bombs and gunfire as ‘normal’. It’s an amazing organization with tons of heart 🙂