More Than a Playground: Portville Community Comes Together to Build Lyman Baker Park
Volunteers, local organizations and community leaders transform Lyman Baker Park with a new playground built for generations of local children
Volunteers celebrate the completion of the new playground at Lyman Baker Park during Saturday's ribbon-cutting ceremony.PORTVILLE - What would make the perfect playground? More places to climb. Slides. Spaces to explore. Room to play together.
Those ideas, sketched out by Portville’s youngest residents months ago, became the foundation for something much bigger than a new playground. Last month, they became the inspiration for one of the community’s largest volunteer efforts in recent memory.
Over three days, dozens of volunteers gathered at Lyman Baker Park to transform an empty space into a colorful new playground. Working side by side, neighbors assembled play structures, spread mulch, landscaped the site, and added the finishing touches to a place that will welcome generations of children.
The project was made possible through a partnership between the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, KaBOOM!, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, and the Town and Village of Portville. Support from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation was powered through its Built to Play initiative. The Wilson Foundation launched the initiative in 2018 in partnership with KaBOOM! and The Skatepark Project to help communities in Southeast Michigan and Western New York provided more safe and imaginative places for kids to play. To date, the $17 million initiative has supported the creation of nearly 100 play spaces and skateparks across its two regions. The final eight projects supported through Built to Play will be completed throughout 2026, in coordination with local community foundations.
Kirk Windus, Executive Director of the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, said that the playground is a reminder that meaningful community projects begin long before the first shovel hits the ground. “Projects like this show what is possible when people rally around a shared vision,” Windus said. “This playground was imagined by local children, but it became a reality because so many people chose to give their time, their talents, and their energy. Every person who showed up helped create something that will bring joy to children and families for years to come, and that’s exactly the kind of community impact CRCF is proud to support.”
Throughout build week, which began on July 23, volunteers arrived early each morning, were assigned to teams and got to work. Some had construction experience, while many had never built anything like this before. Guided by KaBOOM! staff, residents became teammates with a common purpose. What had been an open area of the park became a vibrant play space shaped by countless volunteer hours over three days.
“This playground represents the best of our community,” said Tony Evans, mayor of the Village of Portville. “This has truly been a community effort from start to finish. There is a real sense of pride knowing so many people came together to build something so meaningful. Incredible things happen when we work together.”
Local leadership also proved invaluable. Larry Sorokes completed and submitted the original application that helped bring the opportunity to Portville, while Bob Fischer provided inspiration and leadership throughout the planning process alongside Tony Evans and many others who attended weekly meetings over the last few months.
Portville Central School became an essential partner throughout the project, with Superintendent Tom Simon and Secretary Cassie Dick helping coordinate planning efforts, supplying breakfast and lunch each day of the build, and securing volunteers from the earliest stages. The groundwork was laid by the Village and Town of Portville Department of Public Works, whose crews prepared the site before volunteers ever arrived and worked tirelessly throughout the build to ensure every team had the tools and materials they needed.
While the playground itself is the most visible result, Windus believes the relationships built throughout the project may leave an equally lasting legacy. Volunteers met neighbors they had never known. Local organizations contributed their resources to support the volunteers. Families spent time building something with their children.
The ribbon cutting marked the completion of the community build, but the story of the playground is only beginning. Lifelong memories will be made that will become part of the fabric of Portville’s story. And for everyone who picked up a shovel, tightened a bolt or simply encouraged the effort along the way, the playground will always be more than a place to play. It will be a reminder that the strongest communities, like the strongest playgrounds, are built one helping hand at a time.
KABOOM! is the national nonprofit committed to ending playspace inequity - the reality that quality places to play are not available to every child, especially in communities of color. Since 1996, KABOOM! has partnered with kids, communities, and public and private partners to transform 17,000+ playspaces, expanding access to the physical, mental, and social benefits of play for more than 12 million kids nationwide. As KABOOM! celebrates its 30th year, the organization is focused on community-driven solutions through public-private partnerships, research, policy, and advocacy to elevate the current state of our kids and center youth voice in shaping equitable access to playspaces and nature. Together with partners across sectors, KABOOM! is building the play infrastructure kids need to grow up happy and healthy for generations to come. Learn more at kaboom.org or join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation is the area’s supportive, responsive and trusted community foundation. Established in 1994, CRCF is growing good by connecting donors to the causes they care about most in the region. Grants from the foundation support many areas, including education, scholarships, healthcare, the arts, community development, human service, and youth development. To learn more, call 716-301-CRCF (2723), email foundation@cattfoundation.org, or visit online at www.cattfoundation.org. CRCF is also on Facebook (facebook.com/cattfoundation) and Twitter (@CattFoundation).