HOUSTON – Inside the hallways of a Houston elementary school, artwork and fun messages about Thanksgiving gratitude decorate the walls.
At Southwest Public Schools International Leadership Academy, the children were constantly asking for improvements to their playground. They wanted to play and have fun like any other kids.
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Unfortunately, the playgrounds had become rundown and unsafe without a proper budget to fix them up.
So, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud and his charitable foundation led by his mother, Kimberly Stroud got involved to assist this underserved community. They were contacted by Chantal Sanchez, a project leadership manager and social worker at the school.
In partnership with Lowe’s and Full Court Peace, the C.J. Stroud foundation is remodeling the playground. It will be unveiled for the students Tuesday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
"We really just wanted the community to know that we see them,“ Kimberly Stroud said. ”The students here, they had begged for two years for a new playground and their wonderful project leadership manager, Chantel Sanchez, reached out to the C.J. Stroud foundation and asked for help and she said their budget, they just couldn’t afford to refurbish their playgrounds, they were unsafe and just you know not appealing and the kids just couldn’t really have fun out there.
“So, we decided that would be a great legacy project. One thing that’s near and dear to C.J. is our youth. This is an underserved community where there’s a lot of single parents and we just want to give back. So, this has just been a delightful day. We know that it’s gonna bring so much joy to the kids."
On a hot day late last week, Kimberly Stroud and her team partnered up to begin constructing the playground equipment.
It’s a lot of hard work, rolling up their sleeves to get it all done, but they can’t wait to show the handiwork to the children.
"I think it’s gonna be amazing because children are our future,“ Kimberly Stroud said. ”That may sound a little bit corny, but it’s the truth you know and in this day and time we live in we have to let them know that we see them, we hear them and they matter and that’s what’s important to know know. So, just bringing a smile to their face I think that’s something so small that we all can do that makes such a big impact and so when the children come to school a lot of times this is the only joy that they receive.
“This is sometimes the only food they receive.so I want it to be impactful I want them to know that C.J. had very similar circumstances and that he cares not just a football player he’s a human being that has been through a lot and this really makes a difference and it means a lot to him."
The playground will have swing sets, a jungle gym, a fabric barrier for privacy, new mulch and lights and a science garden for projects, a racetrack, a physical education area and other features.
“I just really want to thank the people at Lowe’s,” Kimberly Stroud said. “We could never have done this without them. They’re an amazing company. They brought resources that I can’t even imagine you know and they just came out with full volunteers and just took over and just did an amazing job. C.J. works so hard and his name means something.
“It’s everything that stands behind the name: his integrity, hard work, all that he does on and off the field and so because of that we’re able to build the C.J. Stroud foundation to be what it is today and that’s hopefully inspiration. The Houston community has welcomed us with open arms and so we can’t help but give back, and they’ve been more of a blessing to us."
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com