The "Space Jam" theme song, "Y'all Ready for This," pulsated through speakers at Hope for the Inner City while more than 200 volunteers rallied to build a 3,000-square-foot compost-covered community playground in six hours.
Hope for the Inner City officials say it's one of the only playgrounds in the East Chattanooga area not connected to a school.
"We're going to get this place really cleaned up and looking good," said Rachel Malkusak, associate project manager of KaBOOM, a national nonprofit set on bringing active play to communities.
BlueCross BlueShield volunteers, East Chattanooga residents and Hope for the Inner City staff exited cars Tuesday morning and walked to the site cheering, carrying water bottles and wearing silly hats.
Malkusak divided volunteers into groups where they focused on different tasks like mixing concrete, moving mulch, and assembling playground components.
The playground, complete with swings, a triple racer slide, seesaw, monkey bars and a "UFO" spinner, will be available to the entire East Chattanooga community.
Organizers ask people to wait until Saturday before using the field to allow the concrete to cure.
The recreation site, which cost an estimated $90,000, is the fourth of six in the state funded by BlueCross BlueShield's Tennessee Health Foundation, though the first in Chattanooga, said Chelsea Johnson, the foundation's program manager.
The foundation awards grants to promote healthy lifestyle choices and help control health care costs for Tennessee residents, according to BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee's website.
Children need a playground in East Chattanooga, said Josh Livingston, vice president of operations for Hope for the Inner City.
"Our children in our community don't have enough safe places to play, but play is an important part of their development," he said.
According to the independent Chattanooga Gang Assessment published in 2012, shootings, violent crime and murders concentrate in East Chattanooga where a third of high school graduates are unemployed and gang activity is widespread.
Hope for the Inner City and BlueCross representatives met with Hardy Elementary School third- through fifth-graders to get ideas for designing the playground.
Students illustrated their dream playground on paper -- one wanted a UFO -- and KaBOOM designed the space with those ideas in mind.
BlueCross BlueShield's Cheryl Cooper smiled big while sitting cross-legged on the Roanoke Avenue sidewalk assembling a superdome climber for the site.
"We're paying it forward, giving back to the community," she said.
Karen Gravitt, a BlueCross BlueShield business analyst, squatted to smooth paver sand with her gloved hands. And information technologist Valarie Gunther got on her hands and knees to place concrete blocks for a walking path leading to the playground.
"It's important for the kids to stay active," Gunther said. "And we want to keep them safe."
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.