TORONTO, Aug. 13, 2016 /CNW/ - The Toronto community was revitalized today thanks to a new playground built at Driftwood Parkette. In less than eight hours, more than 200 volunteers from Foresters FinancialTM, Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation and non-profit KaBOOM! created the new play space, which will serve children and their families in the local community for years to come.
"We believe in enriching lives and building strong communities – that's our purpose," said Tony Garcia, President and CEO, Foresters Financial. "Playgrounds are important to communities, providing a public space where children can play safely, families can spend quality time and the community can come together. An investment in a playground is an investment in community, and we are happy to provide the Toronto community with a place that families can enjoy for years to come."
The design for the new playground is based on drawings created by neighborhood children at a special Design Day event held in June when community members met with organizers from KaBOOM! and Foresters Financial to design their dream playground. The drawings inspired the final playground design.
Foresters Financial, an international financial services provider, helps families reach their financial goals, protect themselves and make a lasting difference in their communities. This year, Foresters and KaBOOM! are proudly celebrating the 10 year anniversary of their partnership. Since 2006, Foresters has invested more than $11.5 million with KaBOOM! to build more than 130 playgrounds – including 15 in Ontario - across the US and Canada by the end of 2016. Over their 15-year lifespan, these playgrounds will provide more than 4.5 million children and their families with an opportunity to spend quality time together and enhance family well-being.
"We are committed to providing healthy, fun and safe play spaces for kids to be kids," said Janie Romoff, General Manager of Toronto's Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division. "As keepers of our common grounds, we know that our communities and neighbourhoods grow stronger through projects like this. Thanks to local volunteers, KaBOOM!, Foresters Financial and our team, this new playground will bring communities together in Driftwood Parkette for many years to come."
Green spaces and safe play structures where children and families can enjoy and spend time together are sparse in many high density communities. Playing outdoors is an important part of every child's healthy development and the creation of this new playground will allow thousands of children to play safely and be active in their community.
Foresters Financial is a KaBOOM! Founding Partner and National Partner. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has been dedicated to the bold goal of ensuring that all children get the balanced and active play they need to become healthy and successful adults. #playmatters
About City of Toronto
Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.
About Foresters Financial
Foresters Financial™ is an international financial services provider with more than three million clients and members in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and total funds under management of $34 billion1. With a history of more than 140 years, we provide life insurance, savings, retirement and investment solutions that help families achieve their financial goals, protect their families and improve their communities. For more information, visit foresters.com.
Foresters Financial and Foresters are trade names and trademarks of The Independent Order of Foresters (a fraternal benefit society, 789 Don Mills Road, Toronto, Canada M3C 1T9) and its subsidiaries.
Products offered vary by country. In Canada, products are offered by The Independent Order of Foresters and its subsidiary Foresters Life Insurance Company. Foresters Financial Investment Management Company of Canada Inc. is the fund manager and distributor of the imaxxFunds, which are mutual Funds, sold by participating mutual fund dealers in your province. Foresters Asset Management Inc. is the portfolio manager for the imaxx Funds and is a Toronto-based investment manager with more than CAD $10 billion in mutual and segregated funds, third party and asset liability matching investments under management (as of Dec. 31, 2015).
1 in Canadian dollars as of December 31, 2015
About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to giving all kids – particularly those growing up in poverty in America – the childhood they deserve filled with balanced and active play, so they can thrive. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has collaborated with partners to build, open, or improve nearly 16,300 playgrounds, engaged more than one million volunteers, and served 8.1 million kids. KaBOOM! creates great places to play, inspires communities to promote and support play, and works to drive the national discussion about the importance of play in fostering healthy and productive lives. To learn why #playmatters and why cities are embracing #playability: visit kaboom.org or join the conversation at twitter.com/kaboom or facebook.com/kaboom.
SOURCE Foresters
Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation: Doug Bennet, 416-338-6608, [email protected]; Foresters Financial: Jennifer Peckett, 647-290-0125, [email protected]; KaBOOM!: Lucy Nutting, 202-464-6195, [email protected]
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