Foresters, KaBOOM! & Volunteers Build New Playground for Aldine Independent School District Children
Child-Designed Playground will Eventually Serve 600 Children and their Families
HOUSTON, May 22 /PRNewswire/ - Versa V. Reece Academy received a brand new playground today thanks to the effort of more than 200 volunteers from Foresters(TM), Aldine Independent School District and non-profit KaBOOM!. The new playground will serve more than 600 children and their families in the local 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 Houston. Foresters believes in creating opportunities for families to spend time together, like the playground at Reece Academy we all built 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 150,000 children and create opportunities for families to spend time together.
The playground at Reece Academy will provide more than 600 children and their families in the Houston 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, Aldine Independent School District and the surrounding community. Playgrounds provide an opportunity for families to spend quality time together and get to know other families in their community.
"I would like to thank Foresters and KaBOOM! for making this opportunity possible for our Reece Academy community," said Reece Academy Principal Sherrie L. Batro. "This much-needed playspace will be a highlight for our students as well as for the neighborhood children. The playspace will give them a sense of pride and a safe place to go play. As principal of Reece Academy, I am committed to the academic and social welfare of my students. I feel it is imperative that our students and community have a safe and healthy area to express inter-social and positive youth development to prevent social and health problems."
Thanks to the work of Foresters, Aldine Independent School District and KaBOOM!, children and their families now have a 2,500 square-foot playground to call home that includes features such as a Slither Slide, an Inclined Cliff Hanger and a Tic-Tac-Toe Activity Wall.
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.
About Versa V. Reece Academy/Aldine Independent School District
Versa V. Reece, a magnet school in Aldine ISD, Houston, Texas, is located in Acres Homes, one of the most historic African American communities in Texas. Reece provides an array of outstanding student-centered curricula by offering Montessori, Direct Instruction and Fine Arts to students Preschool through Kindergarten. On campus at Reece Academy, one will experience the rich interaction between students and their learning environment. Students are given the strong academic foundation they need to utilize higher level thinking skills to ensure future success as critical thinkers and responsible citizens.
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 675,000 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.
* Unity Life of Canada, a Foresters company, is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Independent Order of Foresters
About KaBOOM!
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! is a national non-profit organization dedicated to saving play. Through community building, the company is focused on giving every child in America a great place to play within walking distance. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct more than 1,700 new playgrounds, skate parks, sports fields and ice rinks across North America. KaBOOM! also offers a variety of resources, including an online community, free online trainings, grants, publications and the KaBOOM! National Campaign for Play, which includes Playful City USA and Playmakers - a national network of individual advocates for play. KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.
SOURCE Foresters
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