At no cost to the city, the Beachmont sports complex on the corner of Beachmont Avenue and Ashmont Street got some much-needed repairs and renovations made to its basketball court.

The renovations came courtesy of the Rhode Island Dream Center (RIDC), a non-profit charitable organization focusing on families and individuals in Rhode Island that are in need. Executive Director Stan Winman said they decide on charitable projects “based on surveying local neighborhoods and seeing how we can help.”

The RIDC didn’t actually seek out the Beachmont basketball courts for one of their projects, but were spurred by neighbors to fix up the courts.

“Last year we did our first project at the Smith Street playground off of Broad Street,” Winman said. “While we were at the playground working on that project the neighbors who lived near Beachmont came by and suggested we could do a project near Beachmont.”

The organization then went over to the courts and, according to Winman, saw that they were in some dire need of “love and care.”

After getting it cleared by Parks and Recreation director Tony Liberatore, the Dream Center went to work renovating the courts, which was completely funded by the organization, which also did all the manual labor for the renovations. About $1,800 was raised in donations that was coupled with an estimated $4,200 in in-kind donations from contractors to make the project possible.

Volunteers, landscapers, and corporate sponsors came together to complete the renovations, which was unveiled on Saturday, October 21.

At the unveiling on a warm and sunny October morning, Winman and Mayor Fung spoke to a large crowd outside the court, which was broken in with a basketball game played by middle schoolers and set up by the Cranston YMCA. The teams wore red and green, in true Cranston fashion.

“We have limited funding, so to have partnerships like the Dream Center and all the community coming together is such a special thing,” the Mayor said. “And to me, to cut the ribbon today, for our most important assets, our kids, so they can have fun day in and day out.”

The importance of the renovations to the neighborhood kids can’t be understated, according to Liberatore.

“The basketball court is used quite a bit in that area,” he said. “It’s a popular area and it’s been a big help to the city for it to be renovated by volunteers.”

And because so many kids use the outdoor courts, according to Liberatore, the work on the recreational spot isn’t done yet.

“Next year we want to make a second one to the right of where this court is,” he said. “We want to get a second one because we’ve got kids who wait around to get onto the courts because they’re so popular.”

A second court is being considered for an adjoining tennis court. There is talk, also, of converting a second tennis court into a dog park.

Now, kids in the area will be able to enjoy the courts much more than previously, even as the cold winter months approach.