From his backyard in Stoneham, Mass. TW Walsh can see a rundown park that the town has long forgotten and where teenagers sneak away to drink at night. His wife, Tania, and a group of other mothers in the town grew tired of the eyesore that is Rounds Playground about a year ago and decided to do something about it.
The group of friends started a non-profit organization called Rebuilding Rounds to help raise awareness in the community about a park that has been long since forgotten.
“It’s in real bad disrepair,” Walsh said while describing the park, “Hundreds of kids within walking distance, but it’s such a shame because it’s wrecked.”
While the past year has been focused on spreading the word and navigating through the lengthy process of starting a non-profit that wants to refurbish town-owned property, the next few months are geared towards raising the $50,000 goal necessarily to purchase all of the desired equipment. Part of that initiative is an online auction with prizes ranging from private sewing lessons to a trip to Disney World. Walsh is proud to offer his audio engineering services to help reach that goal.
“We’d like to do the actual construction in the summer,” Walsh revealed before going into detail about how much local support they have gained.
The Stoneham community isn’t alone in the process. Kaboom, an organization that helps facilitate with similar projects, will help guide the local residents during the actual building process, and the town has agreed to match whatever monetary amount the group raises.
He also said the organization is considering expanding their efforts to help rebuild other parks throughout the country. But that’s a long way down the road. Walsh is passionate about finishing the Rounds project first. Even though he hasn’t played a live show since 2008, the musician may even perform live at the park upon completion of the project.
“You can actually see my backyard from the park so maybe I’ll just do it on my patio.”