Chester Goes KaBoom!
Chester, Pa. is a city just south of Philadelphia, located on the Delaware River waterfront. With a population of just under 34,000, Chester has some staggering crime statistics:
Violent Crime Rate Per 1,000 Residents = 14.04 as compared to the national median of 4.
Property Crime Rate Per 1,000 Residents = 34.12 as compared to the national median of 24.
Chester was ranked a 5 out of 100 for safest cities in the country (100 being the safest).
neighborhoodscout.com/pa/chester/crime
Amidst this, reside some community members who refuse to let the statistics define their city. In 2012 the City of Chester teamed up with Major League Soccer and Philadelphia’s professional soccer team, the Philadelphia Union, to build a playground and soccer field right in the middle of town.
With a waterfront stadium and utility building-turned-office, the Philadelphia Union, also calls Chester it’s home. Here is a link to the Union’s charitable arm, the Philadelphia Union Foundation: philadelphiaunion.com/foundation
The company that provided playground - building guidance was called KaBoom! With design plans having been drawn out by Chester’s youth, and many more constituents activated, Chester set out one sunny Wednesday to create space.
Just a field at a school.
Chester Upland School District’s STEM School Field.
A stake in the ground.
Everyone who came out was volunteering their time.
Chester community member, cutting signage.
The Local Union, volunteering their time to do the heavy lifting.
Photo Op!
After the playground and fields were built, soccer was reintroduced to the school district in 2019 through a Philadelphia Union Foundation initiative to bring soccer back.
