Playground will enhance family and community
well-being
LANSDOWNE, PA, Aug. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - The Lansdowne community was revitalized today
thanks to a new playground built at Ardmore Avenue Elementary
School. In less than eight hours, more than 200 volunteers from
ForestersTM, Ardmore Avenue Elementary School and
non-profit KaBOOM! created the new play space, which will serve
more than 25,050 children and their families in the local community
for years to come.
"A community's well-being starts with a child's well-being,"
said Anthony M. Garcia, President
and CEO, Foresters. "Playgrounds are important to communities,
providing an open space where children can play safely. We believe
that an investment in a playground is an investment in family
well-being, and we are happy to provide the Lansdowne community with a place that families
can enjoy for years to come."
The design for the new playground is based on drawings created
by neighborhood children at a special Design Day event held in June
when community members met with organizers from KaBOOM! and
Foresters to design their dream playground. The drawings inspired
the final playground design.
Since 2006, Foresters, an international financial services
provider, has invested over $10
million with KaBOOM! to build over 120 playgrounds across
the US and Canada by the end of
2015. Over their 15-year lifespan, these playgrounds will provide
more than 4 million children and their families with an opportunity
to spend quality time together and enhance family well-being.
"The Ardmore Avenue Elementary School community is beyond
excited to have an outstanding play area where school students, as
well as all Lansdowne children,
can play, be creative and socialize with their peers," said
Tim McKay, Principal of the Ardmore
Avenue Elementary School. "We look forward to increasing our
students' time with play and integrating classroom studies with the
playground equipment. We are very grateful to Foresters for their
generosity in funding our playground and promise to use this gift
wisely for years to come."
Green spaces and safe play structures where children and
families can enjoy and spend time together are sparse in many high
density communities. Playing outdoors is an important part of every
child's healthy development and the creation of this new playground
will allow thousands of children to play safely and be active in
their community.
Foresters is a founding member of the KaBOOM! Leadership Circle
– a group of organizations providing long-term guidance and support
to KaBOOM! and its mission. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has been dedicated
to the bold goal of ensuring that all children get the balance of
active play they need to become healthy and successful adults
because #playmatters.
About Ardmore Avenue Elementary School
Ardmore Avenue
Elementary School offers a very rigorous academic program where
high expectations are the norm for faculty and
students. Ardmore provides many rich academic and social
learning experiences for children inside and outside of the
classroom. We believe that school assembly programs, field trips,
and other enrichment activities play an important role in a child's
overall development. We also believe that our families and school
community are vital to our school and its mission to encourage
student success.
About Foresters
For more than 140 years, Foresters™,
an international financial services provider, has fulfilled its
purpose to enhance family well-being for its members and the
communities where they live. A fraternal benefit society,
Foresters offers quality life insurance and investment products,
unique member benefits and inspiring community activities.
Foresters shares its financial strength with over one million
members in Canada, the United States and the United
Kingdom. For more information, visit foresters.com.
Foresters™ is the trade name and a trademark of The Independent
Order of Foresters, a fraternal benefit society, 789 Don Mills
Road, Toronto, Canada M3C 1T9; its
subsidiaries are licensed to use this mark.
KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated
to giving all kids – particularly those growing up in poverty in
America – the childhood they deserve filled with balanced and
active play, so they can thrive. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has
collaborated with partners to build, open or improve nearly 16,300
playgrounds, engaged more than one million volunteers and served
8.1 million kids. KaBOOM! creates great places to play, inspires
communities to promote and support play, and works to drive the
national discussion about the importance of play in fostering
healthy and productive lives. To learn why #playmatters: visit
kaboom.org or join the conversation at twitter.com/kaboom or
facebook.com/kaboom.
Lansdowne Playground Build Fun Facts
- More than 23,310 children and their families will have
more opportunities to play together every day.
- More than 200 volunteers from Foresters™, Ardmore
Avenue Elementary School and organizers from non-profit KaBOOM!
will work together to bring play to kids and families in
Lansdowne.
- More than 2,000 (US) pounds of concrete will be mixed by
hand to build the playground – more than the weight of 3 Indian
Elephants!
- Volunteers will be adding more than 2,900 square
feet of playground space for children and families in
Philadelphia.
- Nearly 75 rakes, cement hoes, wheelbarrows, shovels,
step ladders, push brooms and other assorted tools will be used to
build the playground! The playground will feature lots of fun
components for children like a Trippple Racer Slide, Pup Tent
Climber, Monorail, and Freddy the Firetruck!
SOURCE Foresters