McCarthy Southwest, a Phoenix-based division of McCarthy Building Companies, recently completed the installation of a new playground facility for UMOM New Day Center’s Casa de Paz Fillmore location, which is part of UMOM’s Next Step Housing (NSH) program.

UMOM’s NSH provides families safe, permanent, affordable, service-enriched housing for 350 families in the community. Casa de Paz Fillmore includes 32, three-bedroom apartments occupied mostly by single-parent families who make an average of $6,000 or less annually.

UMOM is the largest homeless shelter for families in Arizona, and its mission is to provide homeless families and individuals with safe shelter, housing and supportive services to assist them in reaching their greatest potential.

McCarthy’s Heart Hats team – a crew of employees who volunteer their time and skills to worthy causes – installed brand-new playground equipment at Casa de Paz Fillmore. The team also removed the old sand from the play area (which was attracting unwanted cats), installed a new playground surface, painted the basketball court and ramada, installed a watering system and planted new vegetation. Total value of the project is estimated at $50,000.

“The old playground equipment and play area was in disrepair and needed to be replaced in order for the children who live there to have a safe place to play,” said Dave Hepburn, Chief Housing Officer for UMOM. “McCarthy’s team of volunteers was up to the challenge and replaced the playground over two weekends, installing brand-new equipment that the kids will enjoy for many years to come.”

In addition to the new playground, the approximately 90 children living on the site also have access to the following UMOM services: after-school and tutoring programs, preschool programs, summer reading programs, English as a Second Language, summer camps, monthly field trips, gang and drug prevention classes and self-esteem classes.

The in-kind project was made possible thanks to the 24th annual McCarthy Heart Hats Charity Golf Classic, held last year at the Arizona Biltmore Golf Course in Phoenix.

“This UMOM project was a perfect fit for our team and will add tremendous value to these children who’ve faced the heartbreak of homelessness at one point in their life,” said Kristine Newman, who led the project effort on behalf of McCarthy Heart Hats.

“UMOM New Day Centers has received a Heart Hats grant from our committee in the past, which helped fund the Emergency Shelter program at UMOM. We were thrilled to be able to work with one of their housing sites for this hands-on volunteer opportunity for our employees.”

McCarthy worked with subcontractors and vendors to procure donations for the site. Phoenix-area businesses that also donated to the project include: United Rentals, Associated Fence, Mark’s Valley Grading, Roning Landscaping, Falcon, Apache Saw Cutting, Dave Bang & Associates, Fisher Tools and Waste Management.