Bill Ackman And Pershing Square Helped Build And Pay For This New Playground In Newark

(Business Insider) – Hedge fund titan Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management and the Pershing  Square Foundation helped do something truly remarkable this past  Saturday. 

Employees from the hedge fund and the Pershing Square Foundation helped build  and pay for a brand a new playground on an empty lot in Newark, New Jersey.

This was done in partnership with the Greater Newark Housing  Partnership, the Urban League of Essex County, organizers from the non-profit  KaBOOM! and residents of the Fairmount Heights neighborhood.

With the new playground completed, now more than 600 kids in the Fairmount  Heights neighborhood will have a place to play that’s nearby.  Before this,  there wasn’t a playground within walking distance.

Community service outings like these are not only a great way to give back,  but they’re also a fantastic way to build teamwork within a firm.

Speaking of teamwork, Ackman told Business Insider that a great team player is “someone who  works hard, has always got someone else’s back, likes to have fun and has a lot  of energy.”

Ackman also said that Pershing Square Capital Management hasn’t done a lot of  these outings, but they made a decision early on in the year to start doing more  as a fund.

“It’s great for the organization, great for the community.  Everyone  wins.”

The new playground’s design is based off of drawings  created by children who live in the neighborhood.

Here’s Bill Ackman mulching.  ‘Mulching has really,  really found my calling,’ Ackman told us.

Ackman, who had blisters on his hands by the end of the  day, was also part of the early see-saw assembly team and he helped carry the  tables.

There’s the new see-saw being constructed.

Some of the Pershing crew helping spread mulch on the  playground.

Pershing Square’s chief operating officer Tim Barefield  gives a kid five.

Bobby Laman, who works in investor relations at Pershing  Square, helps get the park fence set up.

Paul Bernstein, the CEO of the Pershing Square  Foundation, and his daughter.

The day was set up like a block party.  There was a DJ  and tons of people from the neighborhood came out to help.

The kids, who will eventually use the playground, helped  out, too.

The whole thing was finished in about six hours.

Ackman thanked his fellow helpers.  ‘It’s wonderful to  be part of the neighborhood just for a few hours and help chip in.  Really  appreciate the opportunity.  The employees of Pershing Square all chipped in and  paid for the playground.’

This is Helena Tunner.  She does employee engagement at  PSCM and she helped organize the event.

The ribbon cutting ceremony.

Here’s a close up of that giant ‘thank you’ card.

Here’s the Pershing Square team.

Now this is what the site looked like before…

People from Pershing Square Capital Management visited  the area in the summer when looking for a location for the playground.

Now it’s going to be a bright and cheerful playground.