Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and KaBOOM! Put Kids First by Increasing Opportunities to Play in Jamestown, NY
200 Community Volunteers Unite to Build a New Playground at Chadakoin Park
View the Final Chadakoin Park Playground Design
View the Volunteer Recruitment Information and Sign Up!
Volunteers from the City of Jamestown Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Department and the community will join KaBOOM! on Saturday, August 25 to transform an empty site into a kid-designed, state-of-the-art playground in just six hours at Chadakoin Park. The new playground will help make play the easy choice for kids and families in Jamestown, NY.
WE STILL NEED VOLUNTEERS!!! To sign up, visit the Recruitment Page.
In 1997, a community group raised the funds and brought together volunteers to build the current playground at Chadakoin Park. With that playground structure reaching the end of its life, the community group came together again over the last few years to start raising funds to replace that structure. This is a park heavily used by the neighborhood for family events, a gospel festival, Juneteenth Festivals and other gatherings. The new playground will help continue to offer the children in the area a safe, fun place to play. Also, a bike path located on the west border of Chadakoin Park that’s part of the Greater Jamestown Riverwalk that opened this summer provides a link to the new playground for even more residents and visitors.
In June, kids from the surrounding community came together to draw their dream playground. The playground is based off their drawings and will provide more than 600 kids in Jamestown with a great, safe place to play.
This is the second playground to be built as part of a broader effort led by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation’s Built to Play initiative intended to give kids in Western New York and Southeast Michigan more opportunities for free play. Through the creation of unique playgrounds and the Play Everywhere Challenge this year, the Built to Play initiative will create more than 20 new playspaces for kids that reach thousands of kids in Western New York and Southeast Michigan.
WHEN:
Saturday, August 25
8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Kick-off ceremony
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Best viewing of playground construction
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Final construction phase
2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Ribbon-cutting ceremony
(Times approximate)
WHERE:
Chadakoin Park
10th & Washington Streets
Jamestown, NY 14701
WHO:
Hundreds of community volunteers!!!!
About the City of Jamestown Parks, Recreation, and Conservations Department
The Department of Parks, Recreation & Conservation is charged with providing recreational activities and recreational spaces for 32,000+ residents and thousands of visitors to the City of Jamestown. The Department is also charged with the maintenance of 500 acres of parkland and an urban forest of over 12,000 trees.
About the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation
The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation is a grantmaking organization dedicated primarily to sustained investment in the quality of life of the people of Southeast Michigan and Western New York. The two areas reflect Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.’s devotion to his hometown of Detroit and greater Buffalo, home of his Buffalo Bills franchise. Prior to his passing in 2014, Mr. Wilson requested that a significant share of his estate be used to continue a life-long generosity of spirit by funding the Foundation that bears his name. The Foundation has a grantmaking capacity of $1.2 billion over a 20-year period, which expires January 8, 2035. This structure is consistent with Mr. Wilson’s desire for the Foundation’s impact to be immediate, substantial, measurable and overseen by those who knew him best. For more information visit www.rcwjrf.org.
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
