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

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