Charlotte’s Business Strengthening America Committee has plans for 150 of Charlotte’s top business leaders to build a playground for kids at Idlewild Elementary School -- a playground designed by the students who will use it.

Idlewild students told the playground designers and Charlotte business leaders just what kind of playground equipment they wanted. From slides to swings, the kids dream the design and made the decisions. (Click here to see the playground plans they created.)

The playground they designed will be built March 29 by the Charlotte chapter of BSA, with help from Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, community volunteers from the community around Idlewild School and BSA’s building partner, Washington, DC- based KaBOOM!

Idlewild Elementary is not just an 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. place. Idlewild is a home-away-from-home and a neighborhood center for the thousands of children and adults who live in the high-density housing surrounding the school. The neighborhood is culturally mixed -- mostly African American and Hispanic. Most families are low to moderate income. The school is the center of community activity. It hosts Girl and Boy Scout troops, an after-school enrichment program and outreach for the families who live nearby. Police tell us a playground in the area, with supervised programs provided by the school will go a long way toward reducing crime in the area.

Some facts about Idlewild Elementary:

• 650 children attend Idlewild
• Nearly 70 percent of students are on free or reduced lunch
• Idlewild is a School of Distinction with dedicated teachers and staff
• Current playground equipment for grades 3-5 is a defunct Fitness Trail
• Current playground equipment for grades K-2 is broken and unsafe
• The closest community park is 3-4 miles away

By the end of the day on March 29, Idlewild Elementary have a brand new, safe playground and Charlotte business will show its spirit and willingness to volunteer people and resources to the community.

The initiative is called "Business Strengthening America (BSA). In December of 2002, three Charlotte CEO’s went to Washington to be part of the first BSA volunteer project. Ken Thompson of Wachovia, Mike Tarwater of Carolinas Healthcare System and Tim Newman of Charlotte Center City Partners were among the first to sign up.

They built a playground in Washington’s inner city and came home with a plan to harness the power of business for good.

The group built a playground at Progress Park in West Charlotte last April and will do the same for Idlewild Elementary.