Teen detailing cars to raise money for inclusive playground

By Ken MacLeod

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    PEABODY, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Most high school kids who’ve just turned 18 view their summer job as a way to earn some extra money to spend on themselves. Others waste a lot of their summer playing video games. But 18-year-old Kevin Winschel had a different plan.

“I wanted to do something important,” says the West Peabody teenager. “I didn’t want to play video games all day. I wanted to make an impact in the community.”

So, Kevin — who is already doing an internship at a group home and volunteering at Mass General — formed “Suds for Swings”.

He’s washing and detailing sedans for $85 and SUVs $107 — and he’s donating all of his earnings to convert the aging playground behind Peabody’s West Memorial Elementary School — into an inclusive playground welcoming to youngsters with disabilities.

The city’s Community Preservation Committee is putting up a chunk of the money to transform this aging playground.

But volunteers are raising the rest — roughly $80,000 — and Kevin’s effort might just put them over the top.

“That certainly wasn’t on my radar when I was 17 or 18,” says Katie Colombo — who has been spearheading the playground fundraising effort.

She says yard sales and bake sales haven’t come close to Kevin’s numbers.

“My colleagues insisted I double check to make sure he was real because it seemed too good to be true,” she says. “I just think it’s an incredible act of kindness and charity.”

Kevin has already invested more than 200 hours in the project — motivated by two recent hip surgeries that left the football player bedridden for a few months — and the desire to get kids away from video games.

With five weeks to go — he’s already topped his personal fundraising goal — and doesn’t mind extending a challenge.

“As one teen I’ve raised $3,000 plus,” Kevin says. “Imagine what 10 teenagers could do. Imagine what 100 can do. We could make a huge difference.”

He says it’s his chance to repay West Peabody for the upbringing he’s received here.

Pretty heady stuff for a kid heading into his senior year at a private school that’s not even in town.

But he contends he’s getting — as much as he’s giving.

“Twenty years from now who knows where I’ll be living,” Kevin told us. “But I’ll always knows that I helped build that playground.” It’s a charity road show for Kevin — he comes to his customers — bucket in hand.

And his detailing work is drawing rave reviews.

“It’s very ambitious of him,” says customer Tony Larosa as Kevin worked on his Jeep Monday night. “It’s great to see an 18-year-old with that kind of work ethic.”

But if you’d like him to tackle your set of wheels — bad news.

He’s already booked through the summer.

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