Annual Reds Community Makeover lends a hand to Winton Hills

The Reds, P&G and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden helped lead a transformative “Community Makeover” in Cincinnati’s Winton Hills neighborhood on July 23.

Along with first-year partner Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority, GE Aerospace, Kroger, United Way of Greater Cincinnati, Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Cincinnati Recreation Commission, Playground Equipment Services and many other committed partners gathered for the annual day-long community project that brought together over 600 volunteers to revitalize six sites in Winton Hills.

Now in its 17th year, the Community Makeover returned to the neighborhood where it all started in 2010.

Charley Frank, executive director of the Reds Community Fund, emceed the opening and closing remarks which featured several speakers representing a sampling of the countless organizations that made this year’s record-setting and groundbreaking collaboration possible.

Among those in the crowd were City of Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney and Council Member Scotty Johnson. Kearney had set the process in motion over a year ago, responding to a request to provide support for the Winton Hills Community Council to purchase a vacant church to become a new community center. Johnson, a Cincinnati Police veteran, had worked countless shifts on foot in the Winton Hills neighborhood.

Reds President and CEO Phil Castellini started off the morning by welcoming all the community partners and volunteers and spoke about his goal of making a transformative impact in the community each year that Reds Country can be proud of.

“Every one of these organizations does amazing work independently, but when we get together as a group, we can move mountains,” Castellini said. “I am blown away every year. The scope of the projects gets bigger, the impact gets greater and we couldn’t do it without the communities that we do the work in.”

Winton Hills Academy, a Cincinnati Public Schools elementary serving nearly 400 kids, was the central hub for this year’s project, enhancing the campus with additions such as a community health center with public access, a new playground, STEM lab, murals and one of the Cincinnati Zoo’s “Urban Learning Gardens” featuring what the Zoo’s world-class horticulture team refers to as a “Tree School.”

The first of its kind, the Tree School will serve as an outdoor learning environment that is made up of 12 distinct classrooms consisting of over 100 trees – more than 30 unique species – and 100 shrubs, provided by the Cincinnati Zoo. The unique addition is also accessible to the public and helps to connect the neighborhood, so it is a space for all to enjoy.

Behind the creativity and imagination of the garden was Cincinnati Zoo President and CEO Dave Jenike, Director of Horticulture Steve Foltz and their horticulture team who spent weeks designing and preparing the space before the installation that wrapped up with the Community Makeover.

“We’ve not just created a garden outside the school, we have extended the school out into a green space,” Jenike said. “We have created a park that will grow and will grow with the kids. This is generational change.”

In addition to providing children a fun environment to learn and giving teachers creative freedom for developing the curriculum, Foltz talked about how trees help to reduce asthma and provide other health benefits in an urban neighborhood where air pollution continues to rise.

Not to mention, it’s simply beautiful.

Knowing that the Community Makeover will especially benefit the children of the community, Winton Hills Academy principal Ben Fulton, entering his 11th year as a school and community leader, thanked the volunteers for spending the day to make his students and staff know that they matter.

“Today, everybody here is investing, not just in the school, but in the entire community,” Fulton said. “And you’re showing our students that they’re surrounded by love and people that believe in them. And that’s really going to make a massive impact on the future of our kids here.”

The other five renovated sites included the Winton Hills Recreation Center, Winton Hills Community Council Building, Winton Hills Community Church, Jacobs Center and the Winton Terrace basketball court. From interior upgrades and investments to refurbishing ballfields and painting murals inside and out, the volunteers spanning all ages rolled up their sleeves and offered a hand in any way they could, made easier by near-perfect weather conditions.

One of the primary goals of the Community Makeover is supporting the Reds Community Fund’s mission to strengthen youth baseball and softball programs in the area. This year’s project revitalized Brandon Phillips Field and P&G Field at the nearby CPS Jacobs Center, which was the focus of the first Community Makeover effort in 2010.

One of the most indelible layers of the 2026 Community Makeover was made possible through a new partner, the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA). Two CMHA properties – Winton Terrace and Findlater Gardens – bookend the Winton Hills neighborhood. Winton Terrace is one of the nation’s original and historic housing communities. The basketball court effort at Winton Terrace helped expand the reach and the impact of this year’s Makeover. The court that was previously deemed unplayable has now been resurfaced and received new posts and rims. Most notably, a new mural spans the entire court, bringing color and new life to a sentimental place for many who grew up in the community.

Cincy ARTE Community Engagement Specialist Brent Billingsley grew up in Winton Hills and spoke about the court being the first he ever played basketball on. Billingsley helped design the mural, and included on it is “Since 1938,” the year that the Winton Hills neighborhood was established. Billingsley was out painting the mural throughout the day alongside children and members of the community.

“Every project that my team and I do, it’s from the people and from the community,” Billingsley said. “We need all of these hands to make this happen.”

During the planning process, Charley Frank attended Winton Hills Community Council meetings and heard a common theme.

“Neighborhood leaders wanted to make certain that we were working in multiple areas and truly connecting with the residents,” Frank shared. “Beyond the quadrant that includes the school, recreation center, community center and church, we needed to reach the south end of Winton Hills as well. The CMHA partnership helped unlock this concept. The response to the basketball court rebuild and artwork, and Brent’s ability to engage the kids and the community in the process, makes for one of our most important and meaningful Makeover outcomes.”

On top of the renovations being added to the six sites in Winton Hills, additional partners found ways to give back to residents throughout the day. Complimentary shoes were donated by Shoes 4 the Shoeless, community resources were provided by United Way and Safe at Home, a toy drive was sponsored by Toys for Tots and 40 new beds were constructed and given to families in need thanks to Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

As the day came to an end, the project ribbon was cut in front of the Winton Hills Academy to conclude the work of countless organizations and volunteers who came together to make this truly transformational effort happen.

Winton Hills Community Council President and Winton Hills native and resident Obalaye Macharia was one of the driving forces in bringing the Community Makeover to his home. The final speaker of the day, he shared how overwhelmed he was by the year’s worth of planning and the volunteer service day events, feeling like he was in a dream he never wanted to wake up from.

On such a joyous day, it was perhaps one quick phrase from Macharia’s that best summed up the feeling of all Winton Hills residents.

“Now this is Christmas in July!”

And now, the impact of this project will be felt for years to come by the Winton Hills and Cincinnati community.