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.

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Foresters and community partners volunteer to build new playground in Ben Hill community

/PRNewswire/ -- R.N. Fickett Elementary School in Southwest Atlanta has a brand new playground thanks to a coordinated effort of 200 volunteers from Foresters(TM), students, teachers and the community who erected the facility. This playground will serve the children of Ben Hill where previously there was the original wooden equipment from 1972. Georgia State Representative Roger Bruce, Dr. Sharon Williams, Atlanta Public Schools and Yolanda Johnson, Atlanta Board of Education, joined Stephen Sprague, Foresters Director, Legal, in acknowledging the tremendous contribution made by all the volunteers.

"Foresters is thrilled to provide the children of the Ben Hill community with a wonderful new park where they can play and spend quality family time together," said Stephen Sprague. "This is Foresters' sixth playground build of 2009, and another excellent example of team spirit and of Foresters purpose coming to life. Foresters champions the well-being of families by investing in our communities and by providing opportunities for our members, our agents and staff to help make a difference."

Foresters, a member-based life insurance provider with members throughout Georgia, funded and organized the playground build with KaBOOM!, local parents, R.N. Fickett Elementary School and Atlanta Public Schools. This is the fourth of six playgrounds in the U.S. that Foresters is funding and organizing with KaBOOM! this year. In its 135th anniversary year, Foresters has invested close to $500,000 to provide playgrounds where children and their parents can spend quality time together playing, learning and having fun.

Before the first hole was dug in the ground, children from R.N. Fickett Elementary School helped design the playground of their dreams.

"This KaBOOM! opportunity allows Fickett to be a shining beacon in the community," said Dr. Anthony Dorsey, Principal of Fickett Elementary. "We pride ourselves in being a high performing elementary school in an urban environment. These new additions allow Fickett to transcend tradition and history and become a beautiful educational facility that upholds the standards and expectations of our esteemed community.

"Our goals at Fickett are to come around full circle and display 360 degrees of progress. This playground will energize our students and encourage all Fickett Trojans to complete the circle and attain the 360 degrees of achievement. Fickett has always been a great place to learn. This KaBOOM! partnership will allow us to be a great place to learn and PLAY. And like our funding partner, Foresters, Fickett 'Champions the well-being of Families.'"

The new playground will be nearly 2,400 square feet in size and includes an adaptive swing set, bell panel, catacombs panel, chime panel, drum panel, funnel adventure tube and much, much more. With a duration expectancy range from 15 to 20 years, the playground has the capacity to serve approximately 8,200 children in its lifetime.

Foresters investment in this playground extends beyond the work completed on build day. Foresters volunteers and the community have made a commitment to maintain the playground to ensure it is available for subsequent generations of parents and children.

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