Foresters and community partners volunteer to build new Houston playground
Foresters and community partners volunteer to build new Houston playground
Providing more than 7,500 children a safe accessible environment for 15 years
Houston, TX, September 19, 2009 – The Greenspoint community has a brand new playground today thanks to a coordinated effort of 200 volunteers from ForestersTM, the Redemption Community Development Corporation (RCDC) and the community who erected the facility. This playground will serve the children of the community where previously there was none. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee joined Bruce Burak, National U.S. Sales Manager, Foresters, in acknowledging the tremendous contribution made by all the volunteers.
"Foresters is excited to provide the children of Greenspoint with a wonderful new park where they can play and families can spend time together," said Bruce Burak. "Today we saw Foresters purpose in action. Foresters champions the well-being of families by investing in communities where our members live and by providing opportunities for our members and our agents to make a difference."
Foresters, a member-based life insurance provider with members throughout Texas, funded and organized the playground build with KaBOOM!, local parents and RCDC. This is the third 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.
Evelyn Ogletree, Executive Director, RCDC, explained, "This park is a dream come true for me as well as the children in this community and the entire RCDC Board. For nearly seven years the RCDC Board has worked tirelessly to write grants, seek local business involvement and raise funds to build this park. Last year we raised enough money to erect one basketball goal and a few other small items. The children played daily at the park even though it was really just a vacant lot. We were blessed this year to have Foresters come aboard as our funding partner by way of KaBOOM!. Though this is the first phase of the park, we will continue to seek partners who want to make a noticeable difference in the lives of children and families."
Before the first hole was dug in the ground, children from the Greenspoint community helped design the playground of their dreams. The new playground is 2,500 square feet in size and includes an Adventure Bridge, Audible Drum panel, Helix Climber, Horizontal Loop Ladder, Inclined Cliff Hanger, Rock Blocks Climber and much more. With a duration expectancy range from 15 to 20 years, the playground has the capacity to serve approximately 7,500 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.
Foresters Playground Builders initiative is one way the organization is supporting United We Serve, the White House's call to service challenging all Americans to engage in sustained, meaningful community service. Foresters invests millions of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours to enrich families and neighborhoods across North America for 135 years.
About Redemption Community Development Corporation (RCDC)
Redemption Community Development Corporation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes the conservation, enrichment, redevelopmemt and revitalization of communities and its residents in Northwest Houston. We offer services and programs that develop and enhance the social, economical, educational, physical, and spiritual well-being of children and families in underserved communities. We are building this park because we believe that a child who is engaged in constructive recreation and play will not have time nor desire to engage in destructive activities. For more information, visit
www.redemptioncdc.org.
About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is a national non-profit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since 1995, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct more than 1,600 new playgrounds, skate parks, sports fields and ice rinks across North America. KaBOOM! also offers a variety of resources, including an online community, regional and national trainings, grants, publications and the KaBOOM! National Campaign for Play, which includes Playful City USA and the Playmaker Network – a national network of individual advocates for play. Headquartered in Washington, DC, KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago, IL and San Mateo, CA. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.
About Foresters
Founded in 1874 as a fraternal benefit society, ForestersTM 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 650,000 members in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Unity Life of Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Foresters, represents Foresters in Canada. Foresters is celebrating its 135th anniversary in 2009. For more information, please visit www.foresters.com.
ForestersTM is a trademark of The Independent Order of Foresters, a fraternal benefit society, Toronto, Canada M3C 1T9.
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Last Modified:
Sept 19, 2009
406400 CAN/US (09/09)
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