Let’s Build It – South Side Elementary School To Get a Safe, Fun Playground Thanks to Community Partnership

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Let’s Build It – South Side Elementary School To Get a Safe, Fun Playground Thanks to Community Partnership

Pittsburgh, Pa. - August 7, 2008 -

WHO:

Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, the Allstate Foundation, the Injury Free Coalition for Kids and Pittsburgh Public Schools are partnering to provide a new playground for children and families in the South Side and surrounding areas.

WHAT:

Volunteers are needed to build a playground at Pittsburgh Phillips K-5 on the South Side. The build will take place from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. There will be a picnic lunch for volunteers from noon – 2 p.m. and a fun festival for kids from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

WHY:

The partnership evolved as a way of providing students at Pittsburgh Phillips and families from the area with a playground as the school did not have one. All of the partners are dedicated to the idea of helping to prevent injuries by providing children in the area with a safe playground. In July, a playground that sat behind a locked fence, unused since the closing of Knoxville Elementary School in 2006, was dismantled and moved to Phillips.

Children’s received a $60,000 grant from the Allstate Foundation for the renovation of the playground. Another $10,000 is being donated from Allstate Regional for five years of maintenance and programming. The primary use of the grant will be for the renovation of the playground, including disassembly, moving, reassembly, new posts, replacement parts and a new safety surface.

WHEN:

Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008
8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

WHERE:

Pittsburgh Phillips K-5
1901 Sarah St., Pittsburgh, PA 15203

Editor’s Note: Anyone interested in volunteering for the build can contact Christine Vitale, RN, Injury Prevention coordinator at Children’s Hospital, at 412-692-8229 or christine.vitale@chp.edu.

Contacts:

Marc Lukasiak, 412-692-7919 or 412-692-5016, Marc.Lukasiak@chp.edu
Melanie Finnigan, 412-692-5502 or 412-692-5016, Melanie.Finnigan@chp.edu

Last Update
August 7, 2008

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