CANTON, Ohio — If you think building a backyard playset is a two-person job, think again. On Thursday, more than 20 volunteers from Amazon teamed up with Roc Solid Foundation to build hope for a special little boy.
"What we're doing out here today is the Play It Forward program where we go out to families and we build a place for the kids that are going through this journey that they really shouldn't have to go through," said Steven Caron, build leader for Roc Solid.
That journey is pediatric cancer. Three-year-old Callum Schlup has been fighting Ewing sarcoma. It's been a very tough road.
"We couldn't get him off the couch for a while," said his mom, Deanna Schlup.
They're grateful for the health care heroes at Akron Children's Hospital.
"We would've never got through without them," Deanna said.
And, they're thankful that all Callum has to do now, is be a little boy.
"I feel like he didn't get to be a kid a lot in the last year, so he likes to go outside again, which has been amazing for us," Deanna said.
As the volunteer team put together the final touches on Callum's playset, Caron was overwhelmed with gratitude, knowing that other kids around the country were getting instant smiles, too.
"We're doing 30 play sets in three days for 30 families across the United States," Caron said. "10 teams are flown out across the United States and we're all doing the exact same thing right now as we speak."
Greg Mauldin, operations manager with Amazon, says he was proud of his team, some of whom worked all night, then showed up to help.
"There is no better reason to be out and be a little sleep deprived, but be out in the community to help little Callum," he said. "When he comes out and sees his play structure in his backyard, it will truly be a sunglass moment."
When it was time for the reveal, the volunteers set up a celebration tunnel for Callum to walk through. Then, as he saw his new playset, he smiled.
He loved the slide and swings, but the most meaningful touches on the playset were all the notes of love from a group of folks who just wanted to bring Callum some joy.
It's a gift for which his parents will always be grateful.
"Thank you. It's amazing. They came in and did all of it in three hours and it's just mind blowing," Deanna said.