Doc Snyder's Play House

Dedication, commitment and compassion are characteristics that have best defined Dr. Ken Snyder over his near 30 years of service leading the St. Vincent de Paul dental clinic. Staff, patients, donors and volunteers know all too well about Dr. Snyder’s passion for helping others, and that that passion extends beyond his work at the clinic.

Dr. Snyder spends many hours in his garage at home honing his passion for craftsmanship. “When I was a kid growing up in Pittsburgh, my dad worked in mills,“ Snyder said. “He would bring home wooden crates and scrap wood with a bag of nails. I was 4 or 5 years old, and I just started building things.”

Dr. Snyder has become very proficient at building playhouses.  He built one for his granddaughter and another for a staff member at St. Vincent de Paul.

That led Dr. Snyder to asking Family Evening program manager, Cindy Bernardo, if she would have an interest in a playhouse for the children in her after school program.

Cindy welcomed the idea, which became a reality with the assembly taking place in the Hall of Banners on March 5.

“It’s perfect,“ Cindy said. “The younger kids are able to go in and out of the playhouse and enjoy their own space.  The bigger kids have their space, and now so do the younger ones.”

Dr. Snyder is thrilled that he was able to use young volunteers and staff members in helping him build the playhouse.

“This already brings a joy to me,“ Snyder said.  “The other ones I built on my own.  This one is the first one I had kids helping me build it. A playhouse for kids by kids."

Artist and St. Vincent de Paul donor and volunteer Russ Cannizzaro developed the art design and color scheme for the playhouse.