Nearly a year after Hurricane Helene destroyed its playground, Covenant Presbyterian Church has unveiled a rebuilt, more inclusive space for children and the community.
The church, located in Augusta at 3131 Walton Way, dedicated the new playground on Sunday, marking the culmination of a months-long effort led by preschool parents, church members, and staff.
“Just over 10 months ago, the CSRA was devastated by Hurricane Helene,” said co-pastor Andy Cooke during the ceremony. “While it was hard to see the destruction all around, there was a different quality to destruction of spaces devoted to children.”
Cooke said the playground at Covenant Presbyterian Church was no different, and many in the community expressed how hard it was to see the playground in poor condition.
“We quickly learned how important it was to so many in our community,” Cooke said.
Cooke said the church then resolved to rebuild the playground in time for the new school year. A Playground Task Force, formed in December 2024, guided the project using the church’s core values of hospitality, compassion and inclusiveness.
“We believe that God has called us to reflect these values to our community in all that we say and do, which is one reason that our playground is always open to the public,” Cooke said. “Ultimately, the resources before us belong to God, and it is our responsibility to share them with the community.”
The rebuild also presented an opportunity to improve accessibility.
“We had a great playground beforehand, but it was not as inclusive as it could have been,” Cooke said. “We saw an opportunity to upgrade our playground, but our insurance money would obviously not cover an upgrade for inclusivity.”
Deciding to ask the community for help, Cooke said the church was thrilled to have 165 monetary donations totaling over $100,000.
“We also had hundreds of donated hours around our demo and rebuild from over 50 people across the church community,” Cooke said.
The design was provided by Dominica Recreation Products and Gametime, with CJ Bressoud as the lead representative. Installation was handled by John Foster and his crew — the same team that installed the church’s previous playground more than two decades ago.
Two elements from that original build, known as “the dinosaur riders,” remain in the new space, according to a press release from Covenant Presbyterian Church.
The church credited numerous individuals for their extra work, including Jim Buckalew, Charles Jay, John Ealick, Terry Bowers, Chuck Baldwin, Mary McCarter and Jeff Heck.
The playground is open to the public.
