POWERGRAMS

4 Peals of laughter are rising again from the refurbished playground at Wilmer Hall Children's Home in Mobile. Thanks to gifts of volunteerism and donations made through the Alabama Power Foundation and the Mobile Chapter of the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO), the new play area is functional and safe. Young residents - from toddlers to teens - are enjoying the playground, said Wilmer Hall's Sally Greene and Margaret Scarborough. "The playground is beautiful," said Greene, Wilmer Hall's executive director for eight years. "It's in the heart of the campus, in our quad area. It's a gathering place for our children and staff, and this new playground has made a tremendous difference for them. Now the little ones have something to play on while the older kids throw around the football or Frisbee." Without a grant from the Alabama Power Foundation, she said the new playground would not exist. "The grant was the seed," Greene said. "Playgrounds are very expensive. Researching playgrounds was an eye-opening process for me." Wilmer Hall has operated for 151 years and is Alabama's oldest children's home. It provides 24/7 residential, educational and community services to 36 children and young adults in need, due to poverty, abuse, neglect and homelessness. Mobile APSO members have long considered Wilmer Hall their adopted family, said Theodore Office Supervisor Sharon Murrill, a longtime volunteer. Greene said funding from the Alabama Power Foundation made it possible for Wilmer Hall to proceed with the playground. In August 2014, Murrill and other APSO volunteers sold barbecue ribs in a two-day fundraiser. But the work - and APSO's support - was just beginning. "Sharon arranged for someone to measure and clear the plot we needed, remove the grass and prepare the foundation," she said. Greene and Wilmer Hall staff selected equipment and had it assembled. Mobile APSO members landscaped the area last fall, and Power Delivery - Distribution employees Bill Clements, Gary Day and Mark Leousis installed railroad ties, said Mobile APSO President Ryan Allenbach. In March, rubberized safety material was added around the slides and equipment to cushion the children's falls. "Alabama Power and APSO have helped us in so many ways," said Scarborough, executive assistant at Wilmer Hall for 16 years. On Friday, April 17, about 20 Mobile APSO members will serve Wilmer Hall in a Day of Caring through United Way. "We'll do whatever we can to help, whether that includes cutting the grass, edging, trimming bushes and raking leaves or painting," said Allenbach, Commercial and Industrial Marketing specialist. Scarborough said, "In that one day, we become like a whole new campus." But the work doesn't end there, said APSO Associate Director Tan Grayson. Mobile members are on the scene as needed at Wilmer Hall. Grayson said many APSO volunteers provide holiday meals to the children and staff at Thanksgiving. Mobile APSO makes Christmas a special time for the young residents, fulfilling wish lists. Mobile APSO has an annual summer golf tournament at Rock Creek Golf Club to earn money for presents. Mobile members' dedicated efforts at Wilmer Hall earned the chapter the 2015 People's Choice award, Grayson said, as more than 200 APSO members voted for the organization's top project at the Pay it Forward Conference. "APSO members have done so much for us throughout the years," Greene said. "Without their help and the help of Alabama Power, it would be impossible for us to do many of the things we do. That corporate support is so necessary for us; it helps us stay in existence to help our children and young adults. Alabama Power and APSO truly are the perfect example of a genuine corporate partnership, and we value our relationship with all of them." By Donna Cope Volunteers keep boosting state's oldest children's home 100% CONNECTED Allenbach and Murrill swing child at Wilmer Hall in Mobile. Photo by Dan Anderson

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