NASP Children's Fund Sponsors KaBOOM! Playground

Local Community Service Project

NASP-Children’s Fund Builds KaBOOM! Playground at Live Oak Elementary School

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Each year, in conjunction with the convention, NASP supports a local service project to promote the education and well-being of children in our host city. The goals are to make a tangible difference in children’s lives and to highlight the needs of children that have a negative impact on healthy learning and development.

Live Oak Elementary School

This year, the NASP-Children’s Fund, Inc., will be funding a KaBOOM! playground for the students at Live Oak Elementary School, part of the NOLA School Recovery District. Live Oak serves approximately 250 students, ages 5-12 (pre-k-8^th grade). The student population is 100% free lunch, with an average household income of $22,000. They are 98% African American, 2% Hispanic, and 110% kids ready to have a safe place to play.

The mission of Live Oak Elementary School is to ensure the success of their students by improving academic performance in reading, writing, technology and problem solving through collaboration with the community. During Hurricane Katrina, Live Oak suffered damage from the high winds and rain but was not flooded. Live Oak remained closed for one year following the hurricane. With the student population continuing to rise and the need for schools increasing, the school is now open and serves grades pre-K through 8th under the direction of the Recovery School District.

The students at Live Oak Elementary are in need of both structured exercise and opportunities for free play. There is currently no play equipment for the children attending the school. Building a playground here would turn a flat, bare concrete schoolyard into a great place to play. The school also has plans to create a learning area by the playground where teachers could hold lessons outdoors. The children at Live Oak worked with KaBOOM! staff to design their playground.

About KaBOOM!

KaBOOM! is a national nonprofit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America . Celebrating 10 years of service in 2006, KaBOOM! has used an innovative community-build model to bring together community and business interests to construct over 1,200 new playgrounds, skate parks, sports fields, and skating rinks across America. The NASP-Children’s Fund project at Live Oak Elementary School will be part of “Operation Playground” a KaBOOM! initiative to build 100 playgrounds in the areas devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. You can learn more about KaBOOM! at www.kaboom.org or visit the KaBOOM! booth in the Exhibit Hall.

Community Involvement

Community involvement in KaBOOM! projects is an important part of the process. It helps ensure ongoing commitment upkeep and provides local residents the opportunity to take part in re-building their neighborhood. At Live Oak, the community already is actively involved in school life. Parents and other community members donate to the school as well as take time out to actively involve themselves in the progress and success of the students.

Play Matters

Everyone agrees that play is a fun and essential part of growing up. But play is also the hard work of childhood, directly linked to academic achievement, relationship building, social-emotional development, wellness, and resilience. And playgrounds provide essential laboratories in which children can develop their skills and competency in many of these areas. According to research cited on the KaBOOM! website, “play can be the starting point for tackling social exclusion, engaging with marginalized families and communities, and working to build their capacity to improve their social, environmental and economic circumstances.” In conjunction with the KaBOOM! project, NASP is featuring resources related to the role of play in healthy development and academic performance. Visit www.nasponline.org/about_nasp/kaboom_play.aspx

The NASP-Children’s Fund Commitment in New Orleans

NASP-Children’s Fund, Inc., has made a significant and unprecedented financial commitment of $75,000.00 to the project. In looking the serious need to create healthy, normal spaces for children in New Orleans, the board saw an opportunity to make a lasting contribution to the well-being—and resilience—of children in the area.

In addition to financial support, approximately 150 volunteers from NASP will participate in the site preparation and building of the playground on Saturday, February 9, 2008. NASP volunteers will join volunteers from the host community (parents, teachers, students, business leaders) to actually build the playground in one day. The ribbon cutting will be at 4:00 p.m. and all are welcome. More information and directions to Live Oak are available at the Children’s Fund booth in the Exhibit Hall.

You Can Help! (Volunteer, Contribute, Run)

Serve as a Build Volunteer: NASP members who are registered for the convention will have the opportunity to be part of the NASP volunteer build team. Slots will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Online registration opens Monday, December 3. The build day is on Saturday, February 9. It starts on around 8:00 a.m. and ends with the ribbon cutting at 4:00 p.m. Volunteers are expected to work the entire day. Further information about timing and transportation to the site will be provided to volunteers via e-mail and on site.

Participate in the 5K Fun Run: Net proceeds from the annual convention 5K run and 1 mile walk will be donated to support the NASP-Children’s Fund, Inc., project. If you haven’t done so, you can still register for the walk/run on site.

Contribute financially: You can help support the project through monetary donations. Contributions received will help offset the cost of the playground. Tax-deductible donations may be made by:

credit card online at the Children’s Fund page or the Convention Registration Page on the NASP website: www.nasponline.or/about_nasp/childfund.aspx.
checks made out to NASP-Children’s Fund, Inc., and dropped off at the Children’s Fund booth in the Exhibit Hall or sent to Judy Martin, NASP-Children’s Fund, Inc., Treasurer, 9000 226^th Court, Villa 14-A, Salem, WI 53168 or NASP Headquarters at 4340 East West Highway, Suite 402, Bethesda, MD, 20814.