Video by Jeffrey Goldman
By Jill Fox
A new playground at Chabad of Coral Springs has opened in honor of 18-year-old Meadow Pollack, tragically killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
In January, Princess Meadow’s Playground was built at Betti Stradling Park to honor the young woman who once dreamed of becoming an attorney, as well as the 16 others who lost their lives on February 14, 2018.
Although initially planned to be built on the grounds of Chabad of Coral Springs, the project was later moved to Betti Stradling Park.
However, with enough donations to build a second park, they were able to move forward with this project.
Now, in a short, meaningful video, Meadow’s older brother, Hunter, and Chabad Rabbi Avraham Friedman opened up about the new second playground to honor Meadow and its significance to their family.
Hunter said the playground is meant to celebrate his sister’s memory in a place where the family has found comfort and support from the staff, especially Rabbi Friedman.
Rabbi Avraham Friedman and Hunter Pollack (Photo taken before COVID)
The Pollack family has attended Chabad for many years, and their relationship with Rabbi Friedman expanded after the shooting.
In the video, Rabbi Friedman said he would never forget the message he received from Meadow’s father, Andrew after it happened.
“He wrote, ‘I think they murdered my daughter, Rabbi.’ This pierced my heart.”
From then on, Rabbi Friedman said their relationship took on a whole new meaning.
“I thought it would only be fitting that we should have a nice memory here for Meadow,” he said.
The colorful playground has been open for a few months for children attending the school, but they have only recently started using it because of COVID restrictions. Likewise, there is no official opening scheduled in the foreseeable future.
Hunter’s long-time friend, Jeffrey Goldman, made a video about the first park, and Hunter thought it made sense to do another about this one, especially because of COVID.
“We had such a great ceremony when the first one was built. I felt it would be special to put out a video message showcasing the playground and thanking the supporters in the community,” said Hunter.
Goldman, a Marjory Stoneman Douglas alumnus and a University of Central Florida film graduate, has been friends with the Pollacks since preschool.
“I watched Meadow grow into the young, radiant woman everybody knew and loved,” he said.
Andrew posted the video and wrote that he was proud to announce they built a second playground to honor Princess Meadow’s memory.
Hunter said, “This is a park where Jewish families can make phenomenal memories in honor of Meadow.”
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