CVS Caremark All Kids Can Announces the Opening of a Boundless Playground in Los Angeles to Serve Children of All Abilities
November 13 2008 - 12:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
A $250,000 grant will ensure inclusive play for all children at
Rosecrans Recreation Center in South Los Angeles WOONSOCKET, R.I.,
Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Caremark, Boundless Playgrounds and the
City of Los Angeles announce today the grand opening of a new
playground at the Rosecrans Recreation Center in Los Angeles that
provides access for children of all abilities to play together.
Construction of the playground is funded in part by a $250,000
grant from the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, along with $50,000
donated by the City of Los Angeles. The new playground will be
unveiled today at Rosecrans Recreation Center located at 840 W.
149th Street, Los Angeles, Calif., about 10 miles southeast of Los
Angeles International Airport. The event lasts from 3 to 7 p.m. and
will include free health screenings, refreshments, face painting
and other family activities. "A child at play is a sign of vibrancy
in communities all across the City of Los Angeles. Providing for
the recreation and park needs of residents of Los Angeles' diverse
communities is one of the greatest challenges facing the city,"
said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "Receiving this
generous donation from CVS Caremark supports the City's efforts to
develop play for children of all abilities, and we appreciate their
partnership in developing this new Boundless Playground." This
marks the opening of the city's third Boundless playground, and the
eleventh playground in the community that is handicapped
accessible. With over 160,000 special education students in Los
Angeles County, the demand for fully-integrated play facilities is
great. "We share a common mission with the City of Los Angeles to
help children of all abilities to learn, play and succeed," said
Eileen Howard Dunn, vice president of the CVS Caremark Charitable
Trust. "We are thrilled to have created a playground in Los Angeles
where all kids can enjoy a play experience in line with their
individual needs and capabilities." "The generous donation from the
CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, as part of the All Kids Can program,
has helped us move closer to our goal of having universally
accessible playgrounds in key locations throughout Los Angeles to
enhance the emotional, physical and social development of children
who live with a disability," said Jon Kirk Mukri, General Manager,
City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department. "The community
is extremely grateful for their support." As part of an overall
Rosecrans Park redevelopment project, the new playground replaces a
former play structure, originally dedicated in 1989, that was not
universally accessible and in need of an update. The playground at
Rosecrans will serve thousands of area children, including the
approximately 355 children with disabilities that share the same
zip code as the park. CVS Caremark and the City of Los Angeles
selected this site for a new Boundless playground based on the
number of schools located within a one mile radius of the park, the
playground's distance from other city parks, and the significant
percentage of children with disabilities in the area. CVS Caremark
also met with representatives from Councilwoman Janice Hahn's
district to gain their support as well as local community members
on the Rosecrans Park's Advisory Board. Since 2006, CVS Caremark
All Kids Can, a program of the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust and
CVS Caremark that is dedicated to making life easier for children
with disabilities, has donated more than $2 million to the building
of Boundless playgrounds across the country. CVS Caremark's
signature playground projects include three $250,000 grants to the
playground that opens today in Los Angeles, another playground that
opened in Dallas last March, and a third playground opening in
Boston next spring. Plans for three more signature playgrounds are
also underway. GameTime, the manufacturer of the new Rosecrans
playground and approved vendor of the City of Los Angeles, provided
equipment consisting of universally accessible pathways, surfacing,
and ramps to the highest play deck so everyone can be in the middle
of the fun without leaving behind support devices, such as
wheelchairs and walkers. The playground also includes special
ground level play activities, near wheelchair accessible platform
centers, to promote social and physical interaction between
children of all abilities. Additionally, the City of Los Angeles
will be adding an accessible ground level playhouse island in the
middle of a sand area. "With the extraordinary support of CVS
Caremark All Kids Can, the Rosecrans Park Boundless Playground will
provide all children in this area of Los Angeles -- especially
those with disabilities -- a place to gain the proven developmental
and physical benefits of unstructured play with their peers," said
Frederick Leone, chief executive officer of Boundless Playgrounds.
"By playing together, these children will also learn to appreciate
and respect the unique abilities of others, regardless of any
perceived disability." CVS Caremark All Kids Can All Kids Can, a
program of the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust and CVS Caremark, is a
five-year, $25 million commitment to support children with
disabilities. The goals of All Kids Can are to support children
with disabilities by raising awareness in schools and in local
communities about the importance of inclusion, creating greater
opportunities for physical activity and play, and providing access
to medical rehabilitation and related services. CVS Caremark and
its more than 190,000 employees plan to help children with
disabilities learn, play and succeed through partnerships with
leading local and national nonprofit organizations such as Easter
Seals and many others across the country. For more information,
visit http://www.cvsallkidscan.com/. Boundless Playgrounds
Boundless Playgrounds is the leading national nonprofit developer
of inclusive playgrounds where children, with and without
disabilities, gain the important developmental and physical
benefits of unstructured play. There are more than 140 Boundless
playgrounds in 26 states and Canada with dozens more under
development. For more information about Boundless Playgrounds,
visit http://www.boundlessplaygrounds.org/. About the City of Los
Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks The Department
administers an enormous range of parks and recreational
opportunities. Parks, beaches, mountain ranges, campgrounds and
historical sites are close to every region of the City. The
Department maintains over 15,000 acres of parkland with over 400
neighborhood and regional parks, eleven lakes and more than 180
recreation and community centers. The Department has, in addition
to its parkland and numerous facilities, programs, classes and
activities with adult classes, sports leagues and the country's
largest municipal golf program. The Department is a premier
provider for children's programs in the City of Los Angeles, with
after school programs, 26 licensed child care facilities and sports
programs in most of its facilities. The Department serves more than
1,000 children in its after school programs and more than 6,000
youths in its sports leagues. The Department is a world pioneer in
inventing and implementing universal access playgrounds across the
City at which children with or without disabilities can play
together. Contacts: Sara Steindorf Carolyn Castel Weber Shandwick
CVS Caremark Office: (617) 520-7259 Office: (401) 770-5717 Cell:
(617) 905-4702 DATASOURCE: CVS Caremark CONTACT: Sara Steindorf of
Weber Shandwick, +1-617-520-7259, or cell, +1-617-905-4702, ; or
Carolyn Castel of CVS Caremark, +1-401-770-5717, Web site:
http://www.cvs.com/ http://www.cvsallkidscan.com/
http://www.boundlessplaygrounds.org/
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