TMC Builds Hope with Roc Solid Foundation

on Monday, June 24, 2024 in Company News

On Saturday morning, more than 20 TMC volunteers braved the summer heat to make a difference in the life of a child fighting cancer in Des Moines, Iowa.

In partnership with Roc Solid Foundation, TMC volunteers built a backyard playset for Ezra, a three-year-old who is battling leukemia. Kids like Ezra often have weakened immune systems due to their chemotherapy treatments, which makes it impossible for them to go to public parks and playgrounds. Having a playset in his own backyard—complete with swings, a slide, and a climbing wall—will give Ezra the opportunity to play whenever he wants, without any risk to his health.

Over the course of about four hours, TMC volunteers from all departments worked together to assemble the playset, prepare a space for it in Ezra’s backyard, and set it up.

The playset was a surprise for Ezra. To keep him from noticing the work happening in his backyard, TMC also brought one of our Black and Chrome trucks to Ezra’s house. Ezra—who loves big trucks—got a tour of the cab with his parents and younger sister and was able to sit in the driver’s seat. While he was enjoying his time in a TMC truck, volunteers were hard at work putting the finishing touches on Ezra’s playset.

Roc Solid Foundation has built hundreds of playsets for kids battling cancer, but Ezra’s was the first the foundation had ever tackled in Iowa. Eric Newman, Roc Solid’s founder and Chief Play Officer, says that these playsets are important because play defeats cancer. “The reason Roc Solid Foundation exists is to build hope for kids fighting pediatric cancer,” he told the group of TMC volunteers on Saturday. “What you’re doing today, it’s bigger than what you showed up here to do. When a child is diagnosed with cancer, play is the first thing taken from them. Today, we are giving that back to Ezra and his family.”

Jeff Floyd, Vice President of National Accounts at TMC, is a core volunteer with Roc Solid and has led more than 300 playset builds across the country. Jeff says that he loves seeing the impact Roc Solid makes in the lives of families like Ezra’s. “We’re giving Ezra a place where he can do what he’s supposed to do—play,” he says. “And we’re taking this opportunity to be of service to this family and show them that their community is here for them.”

Building the playset was a great chance for the TMC team to make a difference in our community, but the real highlight was when the finished project was revealed to Ezra, who immediately ran to test out the slide.

Thank you to everyone from TMC who volunteered to spend their Saturday morning making a difference in the life of a family in our community! We’re so grateful to Roc Solid Foundation for everything they do for the families of kids battling cancer, and it was truly an honor to be part of their work.