Fort Worth, TX, May 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Forth Worth community was revitalized Saturday, May 11, thanks to a new playground built at North Hi Mount Elementary. More than 200 volunteers from Foresters Financial™, school community and the national non-profit KaBOOM! created the new playspace, which will serve more than 1,200 children and their families in the local community for years to come.
"Foresters Financial has always been focused on our purpose – to enrich family and community well-being. We've been doing this for over 140 years, because helping is who we are," said Jim Boyle, President and CEO, Foresters Financial. "We are proud to partner with KaBOOM! on these builds that provide children with exciting new play areas and also give families the opportunity to spend quality time together."
The design for the new playground is based on drawings created by neighborhood children at a special Design Day event held in March when community members met with organizers from KaBOOM! and Foresters Financial to design their dream playground. The drawings inspired the final playground design.
Since 2006, Foresters Financial and KaBOOM! have built 154 beautiful play spaces across 93 cities in 31 states and provinces throughout North America and by the end of 2019, Foresters Financial will have funded more than 160 playgrounds. Thanks to the hard work of over 10,625 Foresters members, sales partners and guests for the last twelve years, Foresters is positively impacting the lives of more than 5.3 million children by providing them with access to play. Through each new playground, families are better able to spend quality time together right in their own neighborhoods, playing alongside Foresters members and community partners.
Play is essential to physical, creative, cognitive, social and emotional development. North Hi Mount Elementary recently increased their brain break time by 30 minutes each day, resulting in multiple students sharing the outdated, 30-year old playground space. “Our goal is to transform the North Hi Mount Elementary playground by creating an educational and interactive outdoor space that supports play and brain development for the students and community,” said Dr. Myrna Blanchard, North Hi Mount Elementary Principal. “We are beyond grateful for our partnership with Foresters Financial and KaBOOM! and being about to share this new space with our community on May 11.” The playground area is not only be used for North Hi Mount students during the school day, but it is also enjoyed by neighborhood and community members year round, before and after school care programs like Clayton Youth Enrichment, and multiple youth sporting teams with the Downtown YMCA.
Play is the business of childhood and is essential to the physical, cognitive, creative, social and emotional development of every kid. It’s how kids build strong muscles and healthy bodies; it’s how they learn problem-solving, conflict resolution and creativity; it’s how they make friends and build strong bonds with adults. Play is critical to a kid’s ability to thrive.
Foresters Financial is a KaBOOM! Founding Partner and National Partner. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has been dedicated to ensuring that all kids get the balance and active play they need to thrive.
About North Hi Mount Elementary
North Hi Mount Elementary is a Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) elementary school serving grades Pre-K through 5th with over 400 students located in the heart of Fort Worth in the city’s cultural district. North Hi Mount opened its doors in 1936 and is recognized as a historical landmark by the Historical Society. North Hi Mount ensures that their students are prepared for today's global society by providing rigorous, meaningful instruction, in a safe, supportive, and positive environment.
About Foresters Financial
Since 1874, Foresters Financial has been providing socially responsible financial services to individuals and families. Foresters Financial includes The Independent Order of Foresters, the oldest non-denominational fraternal benefit society. Foresters is a purpose-driven organization that exists to enrich family and community well-being and offers insurance products to over three million members and clients in Canada, the US and the U.K. For 18 straight years, The Independent Order of Foresters has received an “A” (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best.1 For more information please visit foresters.com
¹The A.M. Best rating assigned on August 2, 2018 reflects the overall strength and claims-paying ability of The Independent Order of Foresters (IOF) but does not apply to the performance of any non-IOF issued products. An “A” (Excellent) rating is assigned to companies that have a strong ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders and have, on balance, excellent balance sheet strength, operating performance and business profile when compared to the standards established by A.M. Best Company. A.M. Best assigns ratings from A++ to F, A++ and A+ being superior ratings and A and A- being excellent ratings. See ambest.com for our latest rating.
About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to giving all kids – especially those living in poverty – the childhood they deserve through great, safe places to play. KaBOOM! inspires communities to make play the easy choice and works to drive the national discussion about the importance of PLAYces. KaBOOM! has collaborated with partners to build or improve more than 17,000 playspaces, engaged more than 1.5 million volunteers and served over 9 million kids. To learn why play matters for all kids, visit kaboom.org and join the conversation at twitter.com/kaboom, facebook.com/kaboom and instagram.com/kaboom. #playmatters #PLAYceforKids
Community Partner: North Hi Mount Elementary| (817) 815-1500 | Myrna.Blanchard@fwisd.org
Foresters Financial: Greg Hubert | 416-429-3000 ext. 4044 | ghubert@foresters.com
KaBOOM!: Tamara Grider | 202-464-6196 | tgrider@kaboom.org