PUEBLO — One family owned business in Pueblo that launched during the pandemic is hoping to go one step further to help the community.
SoCo Disinfection was launched with inspiration from COVID-19. The two couples behind the small business has always had a dream of running their own business, and the pandemic presented an opportunity. Now, the company is trying to get their "Protect the Playground 2021" campaign in the air.
"We want to protect our community. And we want to show the community that we’re not just a cleaning company, that we want to do our part to protect the kids," said Jerry Reyes, one of the Co-Owners at SoCo Disinfection.
The business wants to offer free cleanings and disinfecting to as many parks in Pueblo as possible. Reyes and his wife have three children of their own.
“We are constantly worrying about… is our kid safe, do we have to sanitize this, should we sanitize it. We see parents around the community and at the park sanitizing and lysol-ing the equipment, and we don’t think that’s fair.”
However, before the company can begin cleaning places in Pueblo, they need approval from Pueblo's Parks and Recreation department.
“We actually reached out to parks and recs, and we tried to adopt several playgrounds and we’re just waiting on a meeting with them to discuss our process.”
The city's Parks and Recreation department confirmed that the company has been in touch with their volunteer coordinator about the idea.
Meanwhile, parents in Pueblo, like Abigail Scarborough are dealing with dangerous litter when taking their children to play.
“Over by Abriendo, I found about... I think it was six and they were metal pocket knives in the shape of guns, but they were open!” said Scarborough, while her daughter played behind her at City Park.
“What about if she would have went down and landed on one of them? I mean that’s a trip to the hospital, and it could be more than that! It could be… seriously harm!”
Reyes says he and his family have also seen needles lying around in parks in Pueblo. On top of the litter, many are concerned that COVID-19 could continue to spread among children, especially now that the CDC has loosened restrictive recommendations when it comes to wearing masks outdoors.
Scarborough's daughter is one of the young children who actually caught the Coronavirus. She says her daughter's symptoms "luckily" weren't bad, but she's aware that other children may not be so fortunate.
"What about if a little kid with asthma, or does have health issues? They don’t want to be stuck inside. No parent wants to have to keep the kid inside all the time, so getting out to play is a huge deal! My daughter has so much energy and if we don’t get out in the morning and the afternoon, we don’t sleep!"
Once SoCo does get approval from the city to move forward with the campaign, they say they are open to any volunteers who may want to help them clean the playground.
For more ways that you can help them with their mission, contact SoCo here.
