COPA leaders and their young children celebrated the breaking of ground at Acosta Plaza with shovels, stories and speeches. The story, the way Bibiana Alcala tells it, involved an important first phone call. "Once our residents said they wanted a basketball court....we contacted COPA."

Youth and community leaders of Acosta Plaza, in collaboration with other congregations of COPA, lobbied neighborhood associations, Mayor Gunter of Salinas and statewide community foundations to identify funding for the construction of a basketball court. The $100,000 construction project is the result of negotiation: Residents will assist COPA-member and affordable housing provider CHISPA in building the court while the City of Salinas and the California Endowment will help shoulder the costs.

Earlier this year, youth leveraged $500 from a local neighborhood association and then brought Mayor Gunter into the effort -- framing the project as an opportunity to help young people in Salinas thrive. This week, construction begins. By October, the court will be ready for basketball.

Acosta Plaza Residents Build BB Court, The Californian

COPA's Acosta Plaza Youth Accost Mayor to Clean Up Park, WXSWIAF