Gerald Marcell still remembers his elementary school’s recess area — an asphalt space for sports like basketball and four square, backstops for baseball and trees on a hill that provided shade.
Now, he helps build playgrounds where a new generation of Fort Worth elementary students can make memories and have fun.
“I signed up for the first one, W.J. Turner on the Northside, where my parents both grew up, and then I guess the rest is history,” Marcell said.
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52 Faces of Community is a Fort Worth Report weekly series spotlighting local unsung heroes. It is sponsored by Central Market, H-E-B and JPS Health Network.
At the end of the year, these rarely recognized heroes will gather for a luncheon where the Report will announce one honoree to represent Tarrant County at the Jefferson Awards in Washington, D.C.
After a career in information technology, Marcell found a second act as an industrious volunteer, including helping to build 14 playgrounds for Fort Worth ISD — and he has no plans to stop.
Marcell’s tireless volunteer spirit earned him a nomination for 52 Faces of Community, the Fort Worth Report’s weekly series spotlighting unsung heroes in Tarrant County.
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Marcell, 71, does not have a professional background in building, but he was exposed to it through his uncle and grandfather, who built houses.
Building a playground takes a few days, and Marcell said he wants to help from beginning to end. The building begins when a trailer stacked with disassembled playground equipment arrives. Volunteers unload the materials, organize them and begin assembly.
“Usually if it was supported by a company as a build sponsor, they would have lots of volunteers there to help put them together, and some of us folks who had built multiple playgrounds would be assigned a group of the volunteers to put together, say, the slide, or monkey bars or whatever needed to be done,” Marcell said.
Alma Pohler, volunteer coordinator for the school district, said Marcell has become a leader among volunteers. Besides continually showing up, he also encourages others to join.
“He’s always just so positive and friendly and always highlighting why it’s good to volunteer, that others want to keep on doing it,” she said.
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Marcell said the most rewarding part is seeing the kids’ excitement and knowing they will enjoy their new playground.
“Sometimes the teachers let them walk by, parade by, getting to see them smiling and laughing and waving at us and trying to get our attention, and just amazed of what we’ve built so far,” he said.
““He’s always just so positive and friendly and always highlighting why it’s good to volunteer, that others want to keep on doing it.”
Alma Pohler, Fort Worth ISD volunteer coordinator
Marcell’s efforts do not stop at playgrounds. Past volunteer projects he undertook include making pencil holders for Mary Louise Phillips Elementary, phone stands for Atwood McDonald Elementary and a birdhouse for Turner Elementary.
He also volunteers at the school district’s Stop Six Food Drive.
Outside of schools, he works with the community garden at his church, Ridglea Christian Church, which donates food to those in need. In its first year, the garden donated nearly 1,000 pounds of produce to LVTRise and WestAid, a nonprofit food pantry working to combat food insecurity in southwest Tarrant County.
“It’s just important to be able to give back, and people that need it, need it,” Marcell said.
Although he has built over a dozen playgrounds for future generations, he sees no need for a legacy. He emphasized that he is just one of many who give their time to help out.
“I don’t really care that I am much remembered,” Marcell said. “I’m just a volunteer.”
McKinnon Rice is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at mckinnon.rice@fortworthreport.org.
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