Community Volunteers Revitalize Zavalla City Park in Rural East Texas

Generations of Zavalla families have built birthdays, cookouts and long summer afternoons around this park and its pavilion. The playground itself, though, wore the same coat of paint some older adult residents remember from their own childhoods.

On July 24, nearly 60 volunteers from multiple organizations changed that in a single day, revitalizing the city park at no cost to this rural East Texas town of 603 people.

The project started small. Communities Unlimited (CU) connected the City of Zavalla with The Home Depot’s Lufkin store, and the project quickly grew into a community-led effort that included significant playground improvements, new amenities, and sensory features installed for children. It is the latest example of CU’s community sustainability work alongside small towns across the region.

How a Small Ask Became a Town-Wide Effort

“I went out there thinking we’d mostly be doing landscaping,” said Kelsey Moore, the Home Depot project captain. “But once word got around town, people started pitching in almost immediately. I’m friends with a lot of people here, and with other organizations, and it just kept growing from there.”

By renovation day, that momentum had turned into an all-hands effort. Home Depot’s Lufkin store anchored the workday, joined by the U.S. Forest Service, Etech Global Services, Lohr Contracting and Guardians of the Children, along with dozens of Zavalla residents. Lohr’s contractors built the park’s new sensory cube for children. Zavalla Prairie Community Connections, led by Honey Casey and Jaime Gayle-West, kept everyone fed throughout the day.

What Volunteers Built in a Single Day

The work list ran long. Volunteers sanded, painted and power-washed the playground equipment, then spread fresh mulch around it. They installed a wheelchair-accessible swing built to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, replaced loose nuts and bolts, put in a new toilet and sink in the park’s restroom, and set out new picnic tables. A tractor crew cleared brush and limbs along the back fence line. By the end of the day, the park also had a sensory rock garden, a hopscotch court and decorative stones woven through the grounds.

Making the Park Work for Every Child

Gayle-West, who has a son with special needs and whose husband has worked at Home Depot for 24 years, pushed early on to make sure the park worked for kids like hers.

“When I found out they were coming to work on the park, I knew we could make it into so much more than just repainting,” Gayle-West said. “It hadn’t been renovated in years, and it wasn’t built for kids with special needs. We wanted to be able to accommodate them, so we got donations and contractors to make that happen.”

Moore said the day left her with a new appreciation for the park.

“I’ve been through Zavalla a million times and never even knew the park was there,” Moore said. “I’m glad everybody knows where it is now.”

The Partnership Behind the Renovation

Kristy Bice, a Senior Facilitator on CU’s Sustainability Team, first learned of Zavalla’s interest in revitalizing City Park at the city’s 2024 council meetings. Local leaders and residents were united on what needed to change. Years of wear had left the park tired, and updated, inclusive play equipment for kids of all abilities was a priority for both the council and the community.

The vision was there. The funding wasn’t and that gap had stalled progress on the park for years. That plan found a partner in February of this year. Home Depot’s Lufkin store came on board to help make the renovation happen. Fast forward five months later, Kelsey and the rest of the Lufkin store’s staff were on-site on a hot, sunny day to get the work done alongside Zavalla.

“Watching so many neighbors and organizations come together for Zavalla like this is exactly the kind of partnership we hope to build in every town we work in.”

The park renovation is the latest chapter in a partnership between CU and Zavalla that started last fall. CU’s Finance, Community Infrastructure and Lending Teams began working alongside the city to rebuild its financial records and lay the groundwork for a major water system overhaul. Bice picked up where that work left off, and the park has become the next piece of an ongoing relationship between CU and the city.

T.L.L. Temple Foundation: Supporting East Texas Communities

None of this could happen without the T.L.L. Temple Foundation, CU’s partner across East Texas. The foundation’s support helps CU bring community-driven projects like this park renovation to life, which will serve Zavalla for generations to come.

“It was nice to have people in Zavalla focusing on something positive. We were doing something good that everybody can enjoy. It was truly a blessing. I’ve lived in Zavalla for 15 years, and this is one of the biggest and best things that’s happened to us as a community.”