Foresters, KaBOOM! and volunteers bring families together with new playground in Yeadon

Playground will enhance family and community well-being

YEADON, PA, Aug. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - The Yeadon community was revitalized today thanks to a new playground at Evans Elementary School. In less than eight hours, more than 200 volunteers from Foresters^TM, Evans Elementary School and organizers from non-profit KaBOOM! created the new play space, which will serve more than 28,500 children and families in the local community for years to come.

"A community's well-being starts with a child's well-being," said Tony Garcia, president and CEO, Foresters. "Playgrounds are important to communities, providing an open space where families spend quality time together and 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 Yeadon 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 almost 120 playgrounds across the US and Canada by the end of 2015. Over their 15 year lifespan, these playgrounds will provide more than 3 million children and their families with an opportunity to spend quality time together and enhance family well-being.

"This investment of money, time and effort by KaBOOM!, Foresters, our families and our community is a testament to our belief in the power of play," said  Dujuana Ambrose-Dessau, principal of William B. Evans Elementary School. "This play space and everyone's time playing on it will help both our children, and children in the community - socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively while they play!"

Another way Foresters advocates for family well-being is through its Tech Timeout™ challenge, which encourages families to take a pledge to turn off all electronic devices for an hour a day for one week and spend quality time together.  For more details, visit techtimeout.com.

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 balanced and active play they need to thrive because #playmatters.

Evans Elementary School
Evans Elementary School, located in Yeadon, PA, serves approximately 400 students in kindergarten through grade 6.  More than 70% of Evans Elementary's student population is economically disadvantaged, nearly 1% are English Language Learners, and more than 25% receive special education services. Evans School's administration and staff provide a full range of educational support services for its students, with a primary focus in mind to attain success in the Goals of Quality Education adopted by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.  All of Evans Elementary School's classes are taught by Highly Qualified Teachers as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act.

Evans Elementary School has two broad goals that shape the school's direction.  The goals are to maintain high standards in the skill areas of Reading and Mathematics and a focus on developing computer literacy and using computers for enrichment in basic skill areas.  The Evans educational program integrates computer skills with PA Core Standards and the curriculum. Software and computer-related activities are used to reinforce the goals of its productive and educationally-sound educational program.

Evans Elementary School is part of the William Penn School District, which serves more than 5,100 students throughout the boroughs of Aldan, Colwyn, Darby, East Lansdowne, Lansdowne, and Yeadon.

Foresters
For 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 more than one million members in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.  For more information, visit foresters.com, facebook.com/foresters and techtimeout.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 the bold new goal of ensuring that all children, particularly the 16 million American children living in poverty, get the balanced and active play they need to thrive. KaBOOM! has been a powerful champion for play since its founding in 1996, working with partners to build, improve and open more than 15,000 playgrounds, engage more than 1,000,000 volunteers and serve more than 6,600,000 children. KaBOOM! creates and catalyzes great places to play, inspires, empowers and leads play advocates, and educates and elevates the societal conversation about the importance of play in children's lives. For more information, visit kaboom.org/act or follow the conversation on why #playmatters at twitter.com/kaboom or facebook.com/kaboom.

SOURCE Foresters

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