Foresters, KaBOOM! & Volunteers Build New Playground for Southeast Atlanta Children

/PRNewswire/ -- Thomasville Heights Elementary School received a brand new playground September 11 thanks to the effort of more than 200 volunteers from Foresters(TM), the school and non-profit KaBOOM! The new playground will serve 7,500 children and their families in the Atlanta community for years to come.

"Foresters is more than a life insurance provider," said Bruce Burak, National Sales Manager with Foresters. "Foresters also invests in its members and in communities where they live, such as Atlanta. Foresters believes in creating opportunities for families to spend healthy time together, like the Thomasville Heights Elementary playground we all built here together."

Foresters, a life insurance provider committed to the well-being of families, is funding 20 playground builds across North America in 2010. By investing $1.5 million in these projects, Foresters is partnering with KaBOOM! to build playgrounds that will eventually serve more than 250,000 children and their families.

The playground at Thomasville Heights Elementary will provide 7,500 children and their families in the southeast Atlanta community with a great place to play. In less than eight hours, the child-designed playground was built from scratch by hundreds of volunteers from Foresters, the school and the surrounding community. In addition, children and families spent the day playing games and participating in arts and crafts activities. Playgrounds are an ideal place for families to get to know other families and build strong communities.

"With the addition of this playground, our children and their families will have a safe place to connect and play," said Thomasville Heights Elementary Principal Charles Penn. "This play space is going to be a tremendous asset to our entire community."

Thanks to the work of Foresters, Thomasville Heights Elementary and KaBOOM!, children and their families now have a 3,600 square-foot playground to call home that includes features such as a Slither Slide, Rockblocks Climbing Wall and Tic-Tac-Toe Activity panel.

-----
Community News You Can Use
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter:  @GAFrontPage

Atlanta-area Chrysler, Jeep(R) and Dodge Dealers Contribute to Atlanta's Plan to Build a Playscape for Every Child by 2010

PRNewswire -- More than 250 volunteers from Atlanta-area Chrysler, Jeep(R) and Dodge dealers, The Chrysler Foundation, Whitefoord Elementary School, the Whitefoord Community Program, residents of the Atlanta community and organizers from KaBOOM came together today to build a new playground at Whitefoord Elementary School.

This playground, which was designed by local children, is the first new playground at Whitefoord Elementary in many years and replaces existing equipment that was unsuitable for children to play on. The Atlanta-area Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealers spearheaded the build effort that will provide over 300 neighborhood children with a new, safe place to play.

"Every child should have access to a play area that is safe and encourages physical activity," said Steve Harris, President - Town & Country Dodge Chrysler Jeep. "This new playground, which was designed by local children and built by volunteers is a small part of our long-term commitment to the Atlanta community."

Planning for the playground began at a Design Day event held in May 2008. Local children and community leaders met with organizers from KaBOOM! and Chrysler to develop their "dream" playground. The children's drawings were used to create the final playground design.

"We are so excited to have this playground built at Whitefoord Elementary with the help of KaBOOM! and the Atlanta Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealers," said Patricia Lavant, Principal - Whitefoord Elementary School. "A playground represents what a school is all about. This playground says that Whitefoord Elementary School is a school with vibrant, energetic children ready to meet the educational challenges of the twenty first century."

The project is the fifth of 25 playgrounds scheduled to be built across the country this year by KaBOOM!, The Chrysler Foundation, Chrysler Financial and Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge dealerships and is expected to provide more than 30,000 children with a great place to play each year. The playground is also one of more than 225 builds KaBOOM! will lead across the country in 2008, in an effort to provide an enjoyable place to play within walking distance of every child in America.

"KaBOOM! is committed to bringing play back to the neighborhood one playground at a time," said Darell Hammond, CEO and Co-founder - KaBOOM!. "Every child deserves a place to run, jump, have fun and just be a kid. We are proud to work with Chrysler to give the children of Atlanta a great place to play."

Atlanta was selected in 2007 as one of 31 Playful City USA communities in the inaugural national recognition program, National Campaign for Play, administered by KaBOOM!. Playful City USA is a national recognition program honoring cities and towns across the nation committed to taking action for play. The city of Atlanta developed a three-year initiative titled "Atlanta: A Playspace for Every Child by 2010," that outlines steps to place a playground within reach of every child in Atlanta by the year 2010.