Child-Designed Playground will Eventually Serve 4,500 Children and their Families
ATLANTA, April 2 /PRNewswire/ - Children in West Atlanta received a brand new playground today thanks to the effort of more than 200 volunteers from Foresters((TM)), a life insurance provider committed to the well-being of families, Water F. White Elementary, Atlanta Public Schools and non-profit KaBOOM!. The new playground will serve 4,500 children and their families in the local community for years to come. Planning for the playground began at a Design Day event held in February when local children and community leaders met with organizers from KaBOOM! and Foresters to design their dream playground. The children's drawings were then used to create the final playground design.
"Foresters shares its financial strength with its members and communities where they live, such as Atlanta," said Kasia Czarski, Foresters Chief Membership and Marketing Officer. "Playgrounds are an ideal place for families to get to know other families and build strong communities. This new playground at Walter F. White Elementary will provide families opportunities to spend quality time together for years to come."
Foresters has invested over $2 million with KaBOOM! to build 36 playgrounds across North America since 2006. These playgrounds will eventually serve more than 535,000 children, providing them and their families with a place where they can play, learn and have fun together.
The playground at Walter F. White Elementary will provide 4,500 children and their families in the local community with a great place to play and engage in healthy family time. In less than eight hours, the child-designed playground was built from scratch by hundreds of volunteers from Foresters, the school, Atlanta Public Schools and the surrounding community. In addition, children and families spent the day playing games and participating in arts and crafts activities.
"Walter F. White is a community school that believes in educating the whole child," said principal Tamarah Larkin-Currie. "We have a very strong focus here on healthy eating habits and being physically active. The playground being built by Foresters and KaBOOM! will go a long way towards promoting healthier lifestyles for our children and their families, while also providing a safe place for the children of this community to play. This playground will be a source of fun and physical activity for years to come thanks to the efforts of Foresters, KaBOOM! and the many volunteers who have come together to make this a success."
Thanks to the work of Foresters, Walter F. White Elementary, Atlanta Public Schools and KaBOOM!, children and their families now have a 2,700 square-foot playground to call home that includes features such as a Triple Racer Slide, Inclined Cliff Hanger and Rockblocks Climbing Wall.
About Walter F. White Elementary
Walter Francis White Elementary School is located in the Urban Villa Community in northwest Atlanta. The school is named for Walter Francis White, an African-American civil rights activist who led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for almost a quarter of a century and organized Atlanta's NAACP. Walter Francis White Elementary School opened in 1966. We strive to provide every possibility for maximum student achievement and to recognize and stimulate special talents in all students.
About Foresters
Founded in 1874 as a fraternal benefit society, Foresters((TM)) champions the well-being of families through quality life insurance, unique member benefits and inspiring community activities. Foresters shares its financial strength with more than 835,000 members in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Unity Life of Canada(***), a wholly owned subsidiary of Foresters, represents Foresters in Canada. For more information, please visit www.foresters.com.
Foresters((TM)) is a trademark of The Independent Order of Foresters, a fraternal benefit society, Toronto, Canada M3C 1T9.
Includes total number of UK Child Trust accounts
(***) Unity Life of Canada, a Foresters company, is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Independent Order of Foresters
About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to saving play. Because all children deserve to be active and healthy, KaBOOM! works to ensure that every child in America has a great place to play within walking distance. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together businesses and communities to construct more than 1,900 new places to play across North America. KaBOOM! also fights the Play Deficit with online tools that empower communities to join the movement to save play. The KaBOOM! website, kaboom.org, allows communities to self-organize and take action to support play on a both a local and national level.
Foresters
CONTACT: Tamarah Larkin-Currie, Walter F. White Elementary,
404-802-2950, tcurrie@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Ryan Jones, Foresters, 1-800-461-8431 x4096, rjones@foresters.com
Mike Vietti, KaBOOM!, 785-320-2137, mvietti@kaboom.org
