Foresters, KaBOOM! & Volunteers Build New Playground For Mississauga Children

Child-Designed Playground will Eventually Serve Nearly 6,000 Children and their Families

MISSISSAUGA, ON, July 10 /CNW/ - Thorn Lodge Public School received a brand new playground today thanks to the effort of more than 200 volunteers from Foresters(TM), the Peel District School Board and non-profit KaBOOM! The new playground will serve nearly 6,000 children and their families in the Mississauga community for years to come.

"Foresters and Unity Life, a Foresters company, are committed to creating opportunities for families where they can play and spend healthy family time together", said Tony Poole, President and CEO, Unity Life and President Foresters Canada Division. "Our mission is to enrich the lives of our members, their families and the communities where they live, like the Thorn Lodge playground we all build together here in Mississauga."

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 their families.

The playground at Thorn Lodge will provide nearly 6,000 children and their families in the Mississauga 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 Peel District School Board and the surrounding community. In addition, children and families spent the day playing games and participating in arts and crafts activities. Playgrounds are an ideal place for families to get to know other families and build strong communities.

"We're so thankful for the volunteers and community partners who made today possible," says Soni Gill, principal at Thorn Lodge. "After 40 years of providing quality education to the children of Sheridan Homelands and surrounding areas, we now have a great place where children can play, learn and meet friends."

Thanks to the work of Foresters, the Peel District School Board and KaBOOM!, children and their families now have a 2,500 square-foot playground to call home that includes features such as a Slither Slide, a Glide Slide and a Rockblocks Climbing Wall.

About Peel District School Board/Thorn Lodge Public School

Thorn Lodge Public School opened on June 1, 1970. There are currently 390 students enrolled from kindergarten to grade 6. The Peel board serves 150,000 students in kindergarten to the end of secondary school. Operating 235 schools in the municipalities of Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga with an annual budget of $1.2 billion, the Peel board is the largest employer in Peel.

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‡ is a wholly owned subsidiary of Foresters. 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.

‡ Unity Life of Canada, a Foresters company, is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Independent Order of Foresters

About KaBOOM!

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! is a national non-profit organization dedicated to saving play. Through community building, the company is focused on giving every child in America a great place to play within walking distance. 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, 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. KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.

For further information: Nadia Fiore, Foresters, 416-429-3000 x4763, [email protected]; Mike Vietti, KaBOOM!, 202-464-6076, [email protected]; Scott LaMantia, Peel District School Board, 905-890-1010, x2098, [email protected]