Reds Community Makeover

Posted August 1, 2018

More than 400 volunteers will complete Roselawn transformation

CINCINNATI (August 1, 2018) – P&G, the Cincinnati Reds, the Reds Community Fund, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and Kroger have been working hard to transform the New Prospect Baptist Church and the Summit Center in Roselawn for this year’s Community Makeover.

Preliminary work on the project began on the former Jewish Community Center site early in the summer and will be completed tomorrow, August 2, when 400 volunteers from project partners and the community will join Reds Community Fund staff and board members for a day-long volunteer project.

“The Zoo’s horticulture team has been working at the site for several weeks,” said Stephen Foltz, Cincinnati Zoo’s director of horticulture. “We brought in 75 tons of stone and 32 log benches to build a large fire pit and an amphitheater that would be sure to last for many years to come. We landscaped several areas around the property using some long-living shade trees and fruit trees including peaches, cherries, paw paw and persimmon.”

More than 100 cubic yards of topsoil, 100 tons of gravel, 100 yards of mulch and 60 trees, some 10-15 feet tall, were used to transform the campground.

This is the fifth year that the Zoo has provided assistance with landscaping, construction management, project coordination and maintenance for the Community Makeover projects. When work wraps up tomorrow, the collaborative effort by P&G, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Kroger, Interact For Health, GE, Cincinnati ToolBank and OneSource will leave Roselawn with:

  • A new baseball/softball field including infield, fencing, dugouts and bleachers
  • Refurbished outdoor recreation areas and green spaces
  • Upgraded indoor spaces including the teen center, kitchen and technology center
  • A new and improved campground and amphitheater along the Mill Creek

The investments in the Roselawn project will provide significant and sustainable impact, including reducing operating costs and energy usage and investing in the long-term development of the community and its residents.

The goal of the annual project is to make a transformative and sustainable impact on an urban neighborhood and its residents while strengthening local youth baseball and softball programs.

Throughout the past 5 years of working with the Cincinnati Reds and P&G, we have planted hundreds of trees and have an astounding 95% success rate of tree survival on the project sites,” said Foltz. “We truly feel we are making a difference in the communities we are working in and it is an honor and a pleasure to be involved with the community makeover.”