Driving down Burkhardt Avenue just before sunset I came across this soccer game. Everyone from grandparents to young children were playing.
This soccer field was once part of the city’s Burkhardt Community Center, which was shut down in 2009. When the center became vacant, neighbors say it was overrun with drug dealers and crime, and this field was filled with tall weeds. The city considered demolishing the building.
Audrey Starnes, a woman born and raised in this neighborhood, saved the day. She rented the community center from the city and turned it into a daycare facility for the neighborhood children. She also maintains this field so that kids of all ages can play there. Stepping Stones Learning Center, is located at 215 Burkhardt Avenue in Dayton.
This field will be the site of the Burkhardt Festival on August 10. I can’t wait to photograph the contestants in the Strongman Competition.
