New playground set for Valley nonprofit site
Oct 3, 2012, 8:31 AM | Updated: 8:32 am
PHOENIX — A much-need playground, medical and exercise facility is being created at St. Vincent de Paul.
The facility will benefit hundreds of working poor families who utilize services provided by the international nonprofit organization.
“For people who are from working poor families, they don’t have a lot of access to healthy environments, in terms of food and just being outdoors in a safe environment,” said Mary Chou-Thompson, spokeswoman with St. Vincent de Paul.
“They’re here, they can access fresh produce and foods, they can also go right across the street and enjoy this playground once it’s done. It’s really nice for them to have it all in one place,” Chou-Thompson added.
Recently, several children had an opportunity to sit down and draw their ideas of a dream playground. Some drew castles, rockets, a rock-climbing wall and, of course, swing sets and slides. All of the ideas will be used to create a single concept. The playground is still in its designing stages.
According to information provided by St. Vincent de Paul, “The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is dedicated to serving the poor through a variety of programs and services, but does not currently have a playground for children or exercise opportunities for adults.
A new playground and multi-generational exercise stations will effectively address these needs, providing the youth with age appropriate areas to play, as well as, opportunities for seniors to interact further with the community.”
Humana, a healthcare company, joined forces with KaBOOM, a national nonprofit dedicated to saving play to provide the new facility. It will be built on what is now an empty lot east of the south Phoenix St. Vincent de Paul Campus. The playground will be built in one day, scheduled for Nov. 17.
