Waikele Community Park: 15 Volunteers, One Cleaner Playground

Our Waikele Community Park playground cleanup was another reminder of what can happen when the community comes together for our keiki.

This time, 15 volunteers showed up to help, and we definitely had our work cut out for us. The playground had a heavy amount of dirt and buildup, and you could barely see how bright some of the original colors were.

After hours of cleaning, scrubbing, and rinsing, the transformation was hard to miss. The dirt and grime came off, the colors came back to life, and the playground looked completely refreshed.

Putting Our Cleaning to the Test

We also wanted to look beyond what we could see.

Before cleaning, we collected swab samples from high-touch areas of the playground and used agar plates to observe microbial growth. After the playground was cleaned, we collected another sample for comparison.

The post-cleaning plate showed noticeably less visible colony growth than our pre-cleaning sample. While our simple agar plate test cannot identify specific microorganisms or determine whether a surface is safe or unsafe, seeing the difference gave us another way to observe the impact of the cleaning process beyond the visible transformation.

It Took a Community

The biggest part of this cleanup wasn't just the before and after—it was the people behind it.

Fifteen volunteers gave up part of their Saturday morning to serve their community. Every person who scrubbed, rinsed, wiped, moved supplies, picked up debris, or helped wherever they were needed contributed to the final result.

We're grateful for every volunteer who showed up and helped us care for a space used by local children and families.

This is what Faith Works is about: putting our faith into action by serving others and taking care of the communities around us.

One playground. Fifteen volunteers. A whole lot of scrubbing—and a much brighter place for our keiki to play.