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| Tuesday, August 29, 2006 |
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First Anniversary Week Builds
By amylee @ 12:00 AM :: 831 Views ::
0 Comments :: Features From KaBOOM!
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First Anniversary Week Builds
Nelson UNO Charter School & Second St. Elementary
 KaBOOM! kicked off Anniversary Week with a bang today, working with The Home Depot, Playworld Systems and hundreds of volunteers from Hands on Network and the local communities, to build two playgrounds in one day. In New Orleans, Nelson UNO Charter School became the proud owners of a bright new playground. Nelson Charter School Nelson Charter School began its first school year just weeks before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Located in one of the most devastated communities in the city of New Orleans, the school was heavily damaged by wind and water in the storms and lost both student and staff population due to evacuation and destroyed homes.
Today the community came together to bring play back to the children of Nelson, with over 300 volunteers building a playground in 6 hours. In addition to the hundreds of volunteers, NBA legends Bob Lanier and Willis Reed, current New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets players Brandon Bass and Bobby Jackson, along with staff of the Hornets, and team owner George Shinn were also in attendance for the build. Stars of TLCs hit show Trading Spaces Hildi Santo-Tomas, Frank Bielec, Laurie Hickson-Smith, and Andrew Dan-Jumbo were also a part of the hard working volunteer team. They were joined by the KaBOOM! Board of Directors; Playworld Systems President, Matt Miller; Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications & External Affairs for The Home Depot, Brad Shaw; Director of Hands on Gulf Coast, Erika Putinsky; Nelson UNO Charter School Principal Ava Lee; and KaBOOM! Co-founder and CEO Darell Hammond. This group, led by project manager Meg Keaney, built a phenomenal new place to play. The students of Nelson UNO Charter School came by the site to observe and cheer on the volunteers as they not only built a playground, but they also built an outdoor classroom, planter benches, picnic tables, a sandbox, and painted a huge world map, US map, and a mural with the theme Rebuild, Revive, Restore! The day closed with a fun board cutting ceremony to celebrate the transformation of the site.
While a bright new playground was being built in New Orleans, KaBOOM!, The Home Depot, Playworld Systems and Hands on Network were also busy in Bay St. Louis, MS. Second Street Elementary School was the second school to become the proud new owners of a KaBOOM! playground on the first day of Anniversary Week. Hurricane Katrina devastated Second Street Elementary School and the surrounding community. Although the school still stands, the children must attend classes in portable trailers. To answer this need, 150 volunteers came out to build a playground for the children of Second Street in just over 6 hours. The day started with an exciting 7:45 a.m. kick off ceremony where Principal Myron Labat and KaBOOM! Project Manager Kyle Lafferty welcomed the eager volunteers. Throughout the day, volunteers worked hard to assemble the new playground and several play enhancement projects, including 4 planter benches, a shade structure, a wood panel fence, 3 worm bins for a special science project with the students, and multiple trash can containers. The children also gave a helping hand and created mosaic stepping stones. The day ended with a jubilant board cutting ceremony that included serenading to the volunteers from students in the 4th grade class. Dr. Kim Stansy - Superintendent of the Bay Waveland School District, Waveland Home Depot Store Manager Scott Corey, and members of the school board participated in the fun filled celebration.
While two new playgrounds were just constructed in the Gulf, the work is far from over. The rebuild in the Gulf Coast has just begun and can only be a success through continued support from individuals and organizations across the nation. |
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