Donation-Based Concrete Placement: SVDP Elementary School

Using the Arizona State University chapter of American Concrete Institute (ACI) as my platform, I recently teamed up with several generous companies to donate a new picnic slab and sidewalks to St. Vincent de Paul Elementary School's playground. Material/labor donations from Suntec Concrete, Arizona Materials, Salt River Materials Group, and Dickens Quality Demolition made it possible to complete this project over the course of two Saturdays and at no cost for the school. In addition to the children of St. Vincent de Paul's benefit, this project also gave ASU and MCC students the opportunity to work in the field with industry professionals and gain hands-on experience. Over 20 students were able to witness and participate in demolition, formwork, concrete placement (including a laser screed appearance provided by Suntec), finishing, sawcutting, and more. As for specifics, the project featured a 19' x 40' picnic slab, as well as two 6' wide sidewalks connecting the slab to the playground and the playground to the adjacent access road. Once the second sidewalk reached the access road, it continued to the classrooms with 6' wide ramps on each side for truck accessibility. My role in this project was essentially a superintendent. I served as the primary point of contact for all parties involved, organized the material and labor donations, coordinated the project schedule, and kept all companies informed of the schedule to ensure proper execution and avoid delays. Due to various unavoidable conditions (cold weather, shade on the slab, etc.), I was also forced to make a few critical decisions as the project progressed.