St. Louis Rams Build Playground in Maplewood

For the third straight year, the St. Louis Rams built a playground for an area school. This year the recipient was Giant Steps of St. Louis in Maplewood.

“We’re excited to be able to offer this assistance to Giant Steps,” said Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo, who added that the plan was to prepare “the inside of the school so it’s ready for the students the first time they walk into the building this fall.”

Not only did the Rams build a playground for the special education school and therapy center for children with autism, but also painted the rooms, created a mural inside and did some landscaping in front of the building at 7281 Sarah Street.

The school has been at its temporary home in Maryland Heights for the past year and a half. With a scheduled move to Maplewood later this summer, program manager Kim Favignano and development director Nora Kelleher said the Rams are doing about three years of work in one day. That doesn’t just include labor, but also the fundraising it would take for the necessary work. HOK and Glidden also donated materials.

“It’s really great,” Favignano said. “In the building we’re in now, the kids did not have a playground, so we’re really looking forward to this. It’s very exciting for us.”

Spagnuolo brought the idea of a playground build with him to St. Louis after doing similar projects while an assistant coach under Eagles head coach Andy Reid in Philadelphia. The Rams built a playground at Monroe eMints Academy in South City last year and in East St. Louis in 2009.

“This has become one of our signature events,” said Kevin Demoff, the team’s executive vice president of football operations and chief operating officer. “It’s important to the entire organization.

“It’s important for many reasons. Our first focus is to remind people that we’re an organization for St. Louis 365 days a year, not just the 10 days we play at the Edward Jones Dome or the 20 times we play for our fans. We want to show that we’re part of this community. We view ourselves as civic leaders. We have a platform and a ton of fans. It’s a great way for us to show that we can give back.”

Because of the current NFL lockout, this year’s build had a different feel to it than the two previous years. There were not 80 or so players present to help with the heavy lifting. That meant an extra workload for the team’s 127 coaches, scouts and non-football staff, who worked from about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“If we had 80 more guys, it’d be about an hour and a half and you’d get a lot done,” Spagnuolo said. “But, as a coaching staff and the Rams staff in the building, we’ll just be here a little bit longer to try to make up for it.”

During the lockout, now in its third month, players are not allowed any contact with the team. Because it’s an annual community outreach program, the Rams did receive a special exemption for players to participate. Only second-year linebacker Josh Hull, who missed all of last year with a knee injury, showed up to help out.

“It’s a good cause and something I felt like I needed to take part of,” Hull said. “We’re really enjoying ourselves and having a good time out here.

“The city of St. Louis gives so much to us during the season. They show so much support that any time I’m given the opportunity to give back a little bit I take advantage of it.”

While Hull was able to work alongside the coaches, any discussions had to be about the task at hand.

“No football, this is a strict business-only deal,” Hull said. “But it’s good to see some familiar faces.”

Giant Steps was nominated by Dr. Patricia Kopetz, a professor of special education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and also a Rams season ticket holder.

“When our fans can get involved and help with our mission of helping the community, it’s truly serendipitous,” Demoff said. “What’s satisfying is walking up to a school that has nothing and when you leave there’s a playground, a mural.

"For us to be able to do it in a day is a great testament to the charitable nature of our staff.”