Designed for Families, Built by Volunteers: Foresters, YMCA of the Capital Area & KaBOOM! Build Playground in One Day

BATON ROUGE, LA, May 1 /PRNewswire/ - The Baranco-Clark YMCA received a brand new playground today thanks to the effort of more than 200 volunteers from Foresters(TM), the YMCA of the Capital Area and non-profit KaBOOM!. The new playground will serve more than 500 families and 1,000 children in the Baton Rouge community for years to come.

"Foresters is more than a life insurance provider," said Arny Bereson, Director, Member Development with Foresters. "Foresters also invests in its members and in communities where they live, such as Baton Rouge. Foresters believes in creating opportunities for families to spend time together, like the YMCA playground we all built together."

Foresters, a life insurance provider committed to the well-being of families, is funding 20 playground builds across North America in 2010.By investing $1.5 million in these projects, Foresters is partnering with KaBOOM! to build playgrounds that will eventually serve more than 150,000 children and create opportunities for families to spend time together.

The playground at the Baranco-Clark YMCA will provide 500 families and 1,000 children in the Baton Rouge community with a great place to play. In less than eight hours, the child-designed playground was built from scratch by hundreds of volunteers from Foresters, the YMCA of the Capital Area and the surrounding community. Playgrounds provide an opportunity for families to spend quality time together and get to know other families in their community.

"The playground is especially important not only to the Baranco-Clark YMCA, but to the entire Old South Baton Rouge Community because this event brings the community together. The YMCA is not just another workout facility; it is a place for families." said Grover Harrison, Baranco Clark YMCA Executive Director.

Thanks to the work of Foresters, the YMCA of the Capital Area and KaBOOM!, children and their families now have a 3,120 square-foot playground to call home that includes features such as a Glide Slide, a Rock Blocks Climbing Wall and an adaptive bay of swing sets.

Foresters investment in this playground extends beyond the work completed on build day. Foresters volunteers and the community have made a commitment to maintain the playground to ensure it is available for subsequent generations of parents and children.

About YMCAs

The nation's 2,687 YMCAs serve 21 million people each year, including more than 9 million children under the age of 18. YMCAs respond to critical social needs by drawing on their collective strength as one of America's largest not-for-profit community service organizations. Through a variety of programs and services focused on the holistic development of children and youth, family strengthening, and health and well-being for all, YMCAs unite men, women and children of all ages, faiths, backgrounds, abilities and income levels. From urban areas to small towns, YMCAs have proudly served America's communities for nearly 160 years by building healthy spirit, mind and body for all. Visit www.ymcabatonrouge.org for more information.

About Foresters

Founded in 1874 as a fraternal benefit society, Foresters(TM) champions the well-being of families through quality life insurance, unique member benefits and inspiring community activities. Foresters shares its financial strength with more than 675,000 members in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Unity Life of Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Foresters, represents Foresters in Canada. For more information, please visit www.foresters.com.

Foresters(TM) is a trademark of The Independent Order of Foresters, a fraternal benefit society, Toronto, Canada M3C 1T9.

About 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, skate parks, sports fields and ice rinks across North America. KaBOOM! also offers a variety of resources, including an online community, regional and national trainings, grants, publications and the KaBOOM! National Campaign for Play, which includes Playful City USA and the Playmaker Network - 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.

SOURCE Foresters