Media Advisory: U Play! Training and Playground Build > KaBOOM!

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Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Media Advisory: U Play! Training and Playground Build
By gmontefusco @ 7:35 AM :: 989 Views :: 1 Comments ::

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Margie Hall, KaBOOM!
202-464-6165

A PLAYFUL EDUCATION: KaBOOM! HOSTS AWARD-WINNING TRAINING AND HANDS-ON PLAYGROUND BUILD IN NEW ORLEANS
KaBOOM! University of Play (U Play!) partners with Woodmere Elementary to build new playground in one day for New Orleans area children in conjunction with national training

What: The national nonprofit KaBOOM! brings its award-winning training U Play! to New Orleans on February 8-10, 2007. U Play! is a three day training conference that promotes the importance of play and provides participants the knowledge and resources needed to build playspaces such as playgrounds, skateparks or sports fields in their community. As part of the training, over 300 volunteers from U Play!, Woodmere Elementary and residents of the New Orleans area will join forces on February 10, to build a new playground at Woodmere Elementary. The playground design is based on drawings developed by Woodmere students at a Design Day event held in December.

Why: U Play! participants learn how to rally their community and make a difference through building a playspace. The hands-on playground build at Woodmere Elementary will be a part of the training participants receive at U Play!. The playground build is also a part of Operation Playground, the commitment by KaBOOM! to build playgrounds in Gulf Coast communities affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The new playground will provide more than 700 children in the New Orleans area with a safe place to play.

Who: U Play! key note speakers: Hedda Sharapan, Associate Producer for Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Mara Kaplan, CEO & Founding Parent, Center for Creative Play
Jennifer Schmidt, Policy Analyst, Governor’s Office of Recovery and Renewal
Andrew Merlis, Producer for CBS Early Show
Over 300 volunteers and U Play! participants from across the country

When/Where: U Play!
February 8-10, 2007
Marriott New Orleans
859 Convention Center Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70130

Build Day
February 10, 2007
Woodmere Elementary School
3190 Destrehan Ave
Harvey, LA 70058
8:30 AM – Kick off and volunteer deployment
11:00-1:00 PM – Best time to view playground under construction
2:30 PM – Ribbon cutting ceremony to open new play area

Visuals: 15 Conference Workshops
Before and after shots of the site
Volunteers assembling brightly colored swings, triple slides and adventure tubes
Butterfly garden, sensory garden and murals will also be built
Ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate the playground

KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is a national nonprofit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Over the past decade, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct over 1,100 new playgrounds, skateparks, sports fields and ice rinks across North America. KaBOOM! also offers a variety of resources, including a web portal and online community, regional and national trainings, grants and publications for communities that wish to plan a new playspace on their own. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago, Atlanta and San Mateo, CA. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.

Comments

By LionsPride07 @ Monday, February 05, 2007 9:03 AM

My name is Jennifer Lyman and I am a student teacher at Lincoln Elementary Technology Academy along with my partner Nicole Plazio. We are attending the U Play Conference in New Orleans and we can't wait to learn a wealth of ideas on how to involve our community and local businesses and meet others that have the same interest in building playgrounds for our youth. As teachers in training, we understand the importance of play. Right now, our children do not have anywhere to play but the streets. The school's desire is to build a playground for our students so they have somewhere to play at during recess and learn outside during class. We are trying to create a space where students can learn, be active, and play. They live in a high poverty area and we can't wait to be able to give them something to be a part of and proud of. Our goal is for the community and the children to work together through fundraising and helping on Build Day. Our school tradition is bring your father to school day and parents and the children usually help restore the school garden. This year we hope to hold our Buid Day then so the whole family and community can be apart of the experience. This article means the world to some people because it gives us the opportunity to learn how to make our playspace projects successful. Thank you for the opportunity to attend the U Play Conference to help make our dream of building a playground a reality for our children!

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