Want to see a video of the largest swing set ever made? Well, now you can thanks to Backyard Discovery and Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBSS). The swing set broke the Guinness World Record for “Longest Swing Set in the World,” was over 562 feet long (aka almost twice the size of a football field!) and was built in just three days—51 sections in total—with the help of nearly 500 volunteers.
All was said and built on April 30, and 127 kids were able to swing, with 51 more able to slide, at one time.
However, then the S-shaped super-sized swing set was disabled, and all 51 sections were donated to attending Big Brothers Big Sisters families, courtesy of Backyard Discovery (which is the largest residential swing set manufacturer in the U.S.). Children with the greatest need were chosen from among those enrolled at BBBS of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the swing sets even had their names engraved into the wood. So, not only did they get their own swing sets, but personalized ones at that. Aww. (I would have loved that as a kid!)
What was behind the idea? Titled the “BIG Swing Set” project, it was sponsored and managed by Backyard Discovery, and they wanted to get the word out about the positive impact that mentoring has on a child and that child’s future road to success.
“We’re honored to sponsor a project that benefits our nation’s most valuable asset—our children—and brings awareness to the phenomenal organization changing children’s lives every day,” said David Thornhill, Backyard Discovery’s CEO.
For more information on volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters, you can visit them here.
You can check out a time-lapse video of the swing set being built here—in under a minute. Pretty cool.