Building Hope: FCTG Partners With Roc Solid Foundation
For Forest City Trading Group (FCTG), North America’s largest wholesale distributor of building products, a big part of giving back to the community is about getting involved. By partnering with the Roc Solid Foundation, we’re helping bring hope back to children fighting cancer through hard work in the form of building brand new playsets.
There are so many incredible philanthropies doing great work in the communities where we work and play, but Roc Solid touched our hearts. When we learned about Roc Solid, we recognized an instant commonality—the impact of building something.
Roc Solid Foundation was created to build hope for kids facing pediatric cancer. Founded in 2009 by Eric Newman, a pediatric cancer survivor himself, Roc Solid aims to provide support for families facing the devastating diagnosis.
While undergoing treatment, patients have to put being a kid on pause. With weakened immune systems, young patients and their siblings are often unable to play on shared playground equipment. Their lives become a whirlwind of doctor’s appointments and medication, with playtime placed on the backburner.
That’s where Roc Solid and partners like FCTG come in. The Playset Program gives patients and their siblings a safe, germ-free place to play. To sick children and their families, the playsets they build are more than just swings and slides—they give kids a place to just be kids again.
FCTG and subsidiary companies American International Forest Products and Buckeye Pacific united to attend our first playset build in May 2024 in a backyard in Oregon. 25 employees and their families volunteered to come together to bring hope and joy to a pediatric cancer patient and their family.
Roc Solid makes the build process a breeze so volunteers can get the most out of the experience Here’s how the day went for our team of volunteers:
Each team is tasked with assembling a different part of the playset, from the swing to the slide to the climbing wall. The work is fast-paced, collaborative, and filled with the kind of camaraderie that only comes from working toward a shared goal.
When it’s time for the big reveal, the child is brought outside blindfolded. And then, in a single moment, the blindfold is lifted, and what follows is pure joy, laughter, and most importantly, instant inspiration to play. For families enduring the trials of pediatric cancer, these moments are rare and precious.
Not only do families feel the love and support from their community, but our employees and volunteers walk away with a renewed perspective on the power of giving. The playset becomes a physical escape for the kiddo who gets to play, and the experience is equally transformative for the volunteers.
We've always been committed to getting involved and making a real impact in our communities. We’re so grateful to our partnership with Roc Solid because it has allowed us to connect our core values with a cause that means so much. It’s a chance to give back, rally communities, and best of all, help kids be kids again.
Employees at every level are encouraged to get involved in community service, and we’re excited to announce that more companies in the FCTG family will join in the mission to fight childhood cancer with play in the next few months.
For us, this awesome new partnership is an opportunity to give back in a way that creates meaningful, lasting impact. Our companies in cities like Tampa and Richmond and beyond plan to sponsor playset builds for children in the coming months in order to help Roc Solid expand their reach across the nation. Together, alongside Roc Solid Foundation, we can offer more helping hands to do the work of improving the lives of families battling pediatric cancer.
We’re ready to get to work for your business. Let’s discuss your specific needs and how we can help.