Merryman House Domestic Crisis Center Hosts Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for New Playground by Play Mart

Merryman House Playground BEFORE

The families of Merryman House now have access to state-of-the-art playground experiences, thanks to newly installed equipment from Play Mart, Inc.

When Merryman House Domestic Crisis Center moved to its new campus in 2017, out of necessity they moved their existing—and well-loved—playground equipment, which consisted of two small play sets. But they soon began seeking funding for a brand new playground. This year, a generous, private donor gifted the amount they needed to purchase new equipment and safety surfacing for their outdoor playground area.

Merryman House Playground BEFORE

“When Merryman House contacted us to design a playground for them, there was a limited budget we had to work within,” said Jimmy Hogg, Play Mart Distributor and owner of KY Playgrounds. “Play Mart’s high quality and long-lasting commercial playground equipment was the perfect solution for the Merryman House playground. I’ve worked with the Play Mart design team for many years and they were eager to design a playground to maximize the fun for such a special place like Merryman House.”

When the playground design was completed Merryman House had opted for Play Mart’s Tuscany Village playset, an A-Frame Swing with six seats, and an Ergo Eco Bench with a roof for the adults to sit out of the sun. Play Mart designers customized the playset by incorporating the Merryman House logo on one of the photo panels and installing green-colored slides to match.

Merryman House Playground AFTER

It can get rather warm in Kentucky and the play area has no trees for shade. “We were hoping to purchase two of the Ergo Eco Benches with Roof, but it just wasn’t in the budget,” said Amy Abernathy, Director of Safety & Operations at Merryman House. KY Playgrounds worked with Play Mart to make a joint donation of an additional bench for Merryman House so the playground area would be comfortable for caregivers as well.

“Play Mart’s mission is to provide children a safe, environmentally friendly, and creative place in which to play and grow,” said Tabitha Sani, General Manager at Play Mart, Inc.  “It’s so important for these families to have a safe place to play. What an honor that Merryman House chose us as their playground equipment provider.”

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Monday, September 26, 2022, at Merryman House Domestic Crisis Center in Paducah, KY.

Click any of the images below to view larger.

About Merryman House

Merryman House Domestic Crisis Center is committed to saving, building and changing the lives of those affected by domestic violence: women, men, and children. The center is the only certified domestic violence program in Kentucky’s Purchase Area Development District serving Ballard, Calloway, Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Marshall, and McCracken counties. All of their services are free and confidential.

Merryman House campus includes a 36-bed emergency shelter, a central administration/counseling and dining area, and outreach and counseling services buildings. They have served Paducah and the surrounding community for more than forty years.

The Merryman House answers calls for help, assists victims in finding refuge from the risk of death and serious physical injury, provides food and shelter, offers support in court, and empowers survivors to become financially stable and visibly strong.

About Play Mart

Play Mart is a woman-owned / family-owned small business that manufactures playground equipment in Somerset, KY. In addition to providing jobs in our local community, we offer “green” products and ship to customers in the United States and all over the world.

Our products are 100% made in the USA, and manufactured primarily from 100% recycled materials, utilizing our proprietary formula of Recycled Structural PlasticTM, slip-resistant materials, and stainless steel hardware. Play Mart playsets are low maintenance, graffiti resistant, will not rust, splinter, fade or chip, and are – most importantly – safe for children.

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Testimonials

"Play Mart Inc. is truly the company you want to do business with when looking for commercial grade playground equipment.

Lesson learned: not all playground equipment is compatible with other equipment. Our HOA had a Play Mart set that was purchased in 2005 it was needing to be refurbished. Ryan Williams contacted me right away asking what he could do to help. Records hadn’t been kept so I was having difficulty finding what we had and what we could do. After sending pictures from my phone, Ryan took over giving us the original design blueprint! A detailed report on what we had and what needed to be replaced was soon in my hands.

We were elated to learn that some of our stuff was still under warranty! Options of what could be done and what must be done to ensure the safety of our children were outstanding! We were so pleased that the nightmare of searching for playground equipment was now over! The equipment is made in the USA too.

While we wait for delivery we can’t thank Ryan Williams enough for the care he took in making sure that our playground is safe! They also offer installation if you need that! Everything ships with detailed installation instructions like a picture book! Thank You Play Mart and Ryan for all of your professional help!"

Jeanette Bowen

"I'm not sure whether the kids would have caused damage to the playset at some point, but the playground survived the hurricane. Your RSP™ is amazing."

Tim H. Gateway Services Community Development District

Ft Myers, FL

“I would just like to let you know Play Mart did a wonderful job on the packing/shipping and installation instructions. We have installed almost every manufacturer in the market and your company is the most installation friendly we have done in years.”

Playground Installation Crew

Kansas

“The contractor who assembled the set told me it was his first experience with recycled material in play sets and he was very impressed. He also told me it was very well packaged and user friendly for assembly.

It looks first class and blends in well with the wooded area surrounding our church. We like the fact we can accommodate so many kids with a set this size.”

Bruce P.

Topeka, KS

“This is cooler than big kids stuff!”

5 Year Old Child

Topeka, KS

“Congratulations on your extensive and impressive exhibit of your playground products. I was most impressed. If I were a child, I would spend a lot of time in the music section of your marvelous array of enticing things to do. But on the other hand, I could easily be enticed to the many other play opportunities for play and learning.

It is blatantly obvious that you have put a lot of careful thought into developing your engaging products for children. Congratulations and thank you for the tour of your exhibit at the trade show.”

Matthew Evans, FASLA Senior Landscape Architect & Horticulturist

US Capitol, Washington, DC

“It gives me great pleasure to be able to write a letter on behalf of Play Mart, Inc. On two different occasions in recent years, Play Mart constructed playground equipment on our school property. Play Mart representatives went out of their way to meet with the school playground committee so that we fully understand our options and the cost. We have been delighted with the equipment that Play Mart representatives recommended for our students. It is age appropriate and safe. We have had to make two minor repairs, which were quickly taken care of by the company.
In the process building the playground, we were very interested in using recycled materials. Availability of this via Play Mart was a big reason why we choose this company. Play Mart worked with us in obtaining exactly what we wanted. We were very pleased with the construction timeline and the value for the price. When we wanted to add more equipment, Play Mart was most helpful and made the changes cost effective for us. Our students spend many happy hours enjoying the playground.

We have been very happy with the entire project. It is with great satisfaction I write this letter on behalf of the company and their employees.”

Sister Laverne K., School Principal

Newark, DE

“We continue to be so pleased with our playscape! As soon as we open the door in preparation for outside play, the children head straight for the playscape. The teachers so enjoy watching the students play some of their favorite games which include: Pirate Ship (they all crowd on top of the playscape sailing off for adventure of the high seas), Shark! (similar to pirate ship but they all stand on top screaming “shark”), and Ice cream shop (sellers stand under the playscape and deliver ice cream cones to customers on the other side of the ‘counter’).
We thank you again for working so closely with us as we designed this safe and sturdy play area to fit the needs of our Nursery School. It has been one year and it still looks great, blending beautifully into our historic town green. Both our school and our community look forward to many, many more years of fun!”

Laurie H., Daycare Director

Washington, CT

“Our entire church is excited with the equipment and especially glad we saved 32,226 milk jugs from a landfill. We love the look of wood without the problems of termites and splintering.”

Joyce W.

Jacksonville, AR

“I wanted to drop you a quick note to commend you on your subcontractor’s performance…The combination of your quality equipment and the installation by Hammer Down has provided the staff, children and Marine Corp with an excellent play facility. The installation and application of the equipment has turned out superbly.  Hammer Down, Paul and his entire crew were pleasant to work with, knowledgeable of the equipment and codes and had an uncommon willingness to work well with us and other contractors. I commend them for an excellent install and terrific attitude.

As for the poured in place rubber; again a superb product paired with a great subcontractor. Clean Play, Allen and his crew provided a level of work that would be hard to surpass. The installation went smoothly and quickly. I appreciate their attention to detail and cleanliness. Though we may have stayed late, I never have an issue doing that for a contractor that works as hard and diligently as they did each and every day. There performance was outstanding and one I would look forward to seeing again.

I appreciate all of your help and you providing us with such high quality subcontractors. Thank you.”

Mike R., Superintendent

Sauer, Inc.