Press Releases
Feb 23, 2010: More Than 300 Volunteers Gather To Build Playground In One Day At Tiger Academy
Designed By Kids, Built By Volunteers: Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Winn-Dixie, YMCA Of Florida’s First Coast And KaBOOM! Team Up To Build New Playground In Just One Day For Jacksonville Children
WHAT: More than 300 volunteers from the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Winn-Dixie, the YMCA of Florida’s First Coast, organizers from KaBOOM! and residents of the local community will join forces on Wednesday, Feb. 24 to build a new, safe playground at Tiger Academy. The new playground’s design is based on drawings created by children who participated in a Design Day event in January.
WHY: The new playground will provide more than 150 children who attend Tiger Academy with a safe place to play. Currently, the children do not have a playground at the Academy, which opened in August 2009.
The playground will be the first of 10 built by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM! in 2010 in a partnership creating playgrounds that will eventually serve more than 100,000 children. The build will also be one of more than 150 KaBOOM! will lead across the country in 2010 in an effort to provide a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America.
WHEN: Wednesday, February 24
8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Kick off ceremony and volunteer deployment
11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Best viewing of playground construction
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Final construction phase and adjustments
2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate new play area
(Note: all times approximate)
WHERE: Tiger Academy
6079 Bagley Road
Jacksonville, FL 32209
WHO: Hundreds of volunteers from the community;
Winn-Dixie celebrity Chef Robert preparing food for volunteers
VISUALS: Before and after shots of the site
Volunteers assembling brightly colored playground equipment
Volunteers moving 51,192 square feet of safety surfacing by hand
Ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate the playground
YMCA of Florida’s First Coast - Tiger Academy
Tiger Academy is a YMCA charter school, a subsidiary of the YMCA of Florida’s First Coast, a non-profit organization. Tiger Academy, which opened in August of 2009, provides the children of northwest Jacksonville with a structured and nurturing learning environment that is focused on rigorous academic standards, character development, self-discipline, personal and social responsibility and strong family involvement. Enrichment and support services to the students and their families are provided through a unique partnership with the Johnson Family YMCA. Tiger Academy approaches the education of each child with a commitment to helping him or her grow in spirit, mind and body. For more information, visit www.FirstCoastYMCA.org.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. is the leading producer of flavored beverages in North America and the Caribbean. Our success is fueled by more than 50 brands that are synonymous with refreshment, fun and flavor. We have 6 of the top 10 non-cola soft drinks, and 9 of our 12 “power brands” are No. 1 in their flavor categories. In addition to our flagship Dr Pepper and Snapple brands, our portfolio includes Sunkist soda, 7UP, A&W, Canada Dry, Crush, Mott’s, Squirt, Hawaiian Punch, Peñafiel, Clamato, Schweppes, Venom Energy, Rose’s and Mr & Mrs T mixers. To learn more about our Plano, Texas-based company and our iconic brands, please visit www.drpeppersnapple.com.
Winn-Dixie
Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., is one of the nation’s largest food retailers. Founded in 1925, the Company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla. The Company currently operates 515 retail grocery locations, including more than 400 in-store pharmacies, in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi. For more information, please visit www.winn-dixie.com.
KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is a national non-profit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct more than 1,700 new playgrounds, skateparks, sports fields and ice rinks across North America. KaBOOM! also offers a variety of resources, including an online community, free online trainings, grants, publications and the KaBOOM! National Campaign for Play, which includes Playful City USA and Playmakers – a national network of individual advocates for play. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.
Contact: Nikos Westmoreland, Director of Communications
nwestmoreland@FirstCoastYMCA.org
904-296-3220, ext. 243
