United Way behind park's new makeover

A mighty volunteer army, more than 600 strong, began gathering in the dawn hours at Fort Lauderdale's Osswald Park on a recent Friday even as the rain came down on the staging area roof.

The volunteers, assembled by United Way of Broward County and drawn from roughly 30 local companies, were there to put a new face on the park. The effort was all a part of Untied Way's Annual Day of Caring, which the organization's president and CEO Kathleen Cannon calls, "the whole community coming together to do something good."

The day's plan included painting fences and gazebos, pressure cleaning, murals and constructing bookshelves, among other projects.

The choice of location was simple: Osswald Park needed the attention, Cannon said.

"We research to find areas in need. Last year we did the grounds around the War Memorial Auditorium. We focused on veterans then. Now we're focusing on literacy," she said.

Each volunteer brought a book and massive packing cases were arrayed around the staging area to hold the donations.

By early morning, the park became a beehive of activity. Brooms, rakes, shovels and wheelbarrows were pressed into service.

"I love this," said Bob Guido, wheeling pots of flowers. "I'm with Holman Automotive, helping United Way to revamp the setting. We're in the community [and] we're giving back."

Workers began unloading foam containers of boxed sandwich lunches from a Publix semi-truck. Yellow-shirted AutoNation volunteers tore up the ground outside the park's main building, the Wallace J. Merriett Recreation Center. Inside a small crew in FPL T-shirts were hammering together and painting bookshelves provided by United Way and Home Depot.

Peter Moore, head of the engineering firm Chen Moore and Associates, was one of the volunteers helping to paint.

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United Way behind park's new makeover