Carrie Underwood Helps Build New Playground For Checotah School

Lacie Lowry, News On 6

CHECOTAH, Oklahoma -- Country music star and Checotah native Carrie Underwood and her C.A.T.S. Foundation joined with more than 200 volunteers Friday to build a new playground at Marshall Elementary School in Checotah. 

The volunteers raked 140 cubic yards of mulch, mixed 10,000 pounds of concrete and built a playground from scratch in one day.

"I have never seen something like this before. People coming out and really working together and having fun," Carrie Underwood said. "I'm dirty. I'm sweaty. I'm nasty and have paint everywhere. But we had so much fun doing it."

Carrie Underwood and her foundation wanted to do this for Marshall Elementary. She wants to leave a mark on the school she attended.

"It's really nice to give back to the community, you know the people. My parents still live here. Everybody Knows everybody. The kids that are in school are [the children of the] kids I went to school with," she said.

Underwood partnered with kaboom, a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving playtime.

"We don't think they play enough. That's why its kaboom's mission to build a great place to play within walking distance of every child in North America," said Kaboom Project Manager Katie Morgan.

The student actually designed the playground, which is a tree house theme.

"There's also something called walk the plank. [Kids] can walk out onto something fun. There is tree toppers on top of the playground," Morgan said.

Beside the playground there is a community garden. It's designed to inspire the kids to be outside and active.

"I played outside, that's all I did. I was a dirty, nasty kid and that is what you're supposed to be. I feel like there is so many reasons to stay indoors now," Underwood said.

Underwood hopes this new playground will change that.

The concrete is still drying, but the kids can start playing on it Monday. Underwood reviled she has another surprise coming to the city of Checotah in December.

5/16/2011 Related Story: Carrie Underwood's Foundation Helps Fund Checotah Animal Shelter