Illinois Park & Recreation Association’s commercial member, Team REIL/Park and Recreation Supply of Union, IL, worked with Matthew McConaughey in Houston, TX building a playground for hurricane Katrina victims who now live on Angel Lane.

Ten members of Team REIL, a distributor and installer of Miracle playground equipment, departed Union, IL in August to travel to Houston, TX. Team REIL made the trip to donate a playground system to residents of Angel Lane, all re-located survivors of hurricane Katrina, and to help residents with the “community built” playground.

With 65 families now living on Angel Lane, John Cederlund, president of Team REIL said, “In times past, people came together to build barns, bring in the harvest and help each other in crisis. This is a great exercise in cooperation, organization and teamwork.”

The playground, donated by Team REIL, was installed in a single day. Many residents of Angel Lane, Matthew McConaughey, actor and native Texan, and Roger Clemens, a Houston, TX resident and professional baseball player for the Houston Astros, were all on site helping with the construction process of the “community built” playground.

“There are little kids that need places to play and interact and be out in the community. And that’s why we’re here-to help the Angel Network build a new playground area…” McConaughey stated on a recent online blog.

Cederlund who has been involved in many community built playgrounds, also said, “This playground will provide a renewed sense of normalcy, despite the devastation that brought this community together. The sun still comes up, the birds still sing, and life goes on. This new playground will hopefully become a meeting place for this community, a place where kids can be kids, safe and carefree again.”