Foresters, KaBOOM! and volunteers bring families together with new playground at Sinclair Lane Elementary

Playground will enhance family and community well-being

BALTIMORE, Sept. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - The Baltimore community was revitalized today thanks to a new playground built at Sinclair Lane Elementary School. In less than eight hours, more than 200 volunteers from Foresters^TM, Belair-Edison Healthy Community Coalition, Baltimore City Public Schools, and non-profit KaBOOM! created the new play space, which will serve more than 28,000 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 Baltimore 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 July 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.

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 Baltimore City Public Schools
City Schools is committed to ensuring that all students graduate from high school ready for college, career training, and life success in the 21st century. The district serves almost 85,000 students in 186 schools and programs, including traditional neighborhood schools, middle and high schools that attract students from across the city, and innovative programs with specific areas of academic focus or educational approaches. Our mission is to excellence in education for every child in every school. 

About Belair-Edison Healthy Community Coalition
The Belair-Edison Healthy Community Coalition is a non-profit partnership of community stakeholders functioning as a catalyst for positive change in the quality of lives of families and individuals who live, work and visit the Belair-Edison community.

It is our mission to develop innovative strategies through community planning, program development, advocacy, and public education that will encourage and support effective, cohesive partnerships, and advance a neighborhood renaissance to mobilize the existing expertise and services in and around the Belair-Edison community. For more information, visit becoalition.org. 

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.

About 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.

For the Baltimore Playground Build Fun Facts PDF please click: http://files.newswire.ca/1431/BaltimoreFunFacts.pdf

SOURCE Foresters

Related Links

www.foresters.com