How One Man (And His Family) Changed the Culture of a Community — Episode 032

When Derwin Hannah moved from South Carolina to Baltimore,
Maryland, 22 years ago, he couldn’t help but notice that things
weren’t the way they should be. He noticed that the kids were
playing in the street and that the local park, ABC Park, was
being overrun with criminal activity and not being cared for.
Derwin, who grew up in a large family of 10, wanted the kids in
this Baltimore community to have the chance of experiencing the
childhood that he had — a chance to play, a chance to feel a
sense of belonging.


After Derwin and his wife, Denetria, hosted their son’s first
birthday party at ABC Park, they decided to take it upon
themselves to bring the park back to life and give this community
the opportunity to have a safe space. As a volunteer (on top of
his job as a truck driver), Derwin has gone to ABC Park twice a
day for the past 17 years to care for the space and serve as a
leader for the community. Changing the culture of this place
didn’t come without obstacles, but through persistence, buy-in
from the community, strategic partnerships and a lot of love, ABC
Park is now home to movie nights for the community, an annual
kickball game, and sports programs with about 250 participants.


The transformation that ABC Park has gone through under Derwin
and his family’s care is incredible, but with very little
funding, only so much can be done. Each year, in the host city of
the NRPA Annual Conference, a park is selected to be rebuilt and
revitalized as part of NRPA’s Parks Build Community project. This
year, NRPA will work alongside Baltimore City Recreation and
Parks and various top-rated park equipment manufacturers — who
donate services and equipment — to make ABC Park a place that the
members of this community can be even more proud of than they
already are.


Check out the episode to learn more about Derwin’s journey in
changing the face of ABC Park and hear the excitement in his
voice when we talk about what he’s looking forward to with this
year’s Parks Build Community project.


Click here to learn more about this year’s Parks Build Community
project and watch a video from the groundbreaking ceremony.