24 Hour Fitness, in collaboration with KaBOOM!, a national non-profit dedicated to saving play for children, rallied with more than 200 community volunteers to build a new playground on Nov. 4 at Eden Housing’s Stoney Creek Apartments in Livermore.
The project—completed entirely in less than eight hours—was executed in association with Eden Housing, a Northern California affordable housing provider that owns and manages the Stoney Creek development. Stoney Creek Apartments consists of 70 affordable rental apartments and serves low-income families in the area.
“We are firm believers in the importance of youth fitness, and are always looking for ways to make personal connections with the communities we serve,” said Dan Benning, the division president of 24 Hour Fitness. “We’re proud that more than 125 of our team members joined Eden Housing, KaBOOM! and local residents in building the children of Livermore a safe place to play. Today was testament to the fact that our employees love what they do and are committed to serving their community and sharing their passion for fitness with others.”
The new playground replaces two aging play structures and will help foster an environment where children can stay physically active for many years to come. They will also provide young residents of the Stoney Creek Apartments with a safe place to play outdoors, within walking distance of their home. The playground’s design was based on drawings created by local children who participated in a “design day” event in September.
“The new playground is such a valuable addition to Stoney Creek, and the youth who helped design it are so excited for their new playspace,” said Linda Mandolini, the executive director of Eden Housing. “We are so grateful to 24 Hour Fitness and KaBOOM! for bringing play to our youngest residents.”
24 Hour Fitness has long been an advocate for youth fitness, supporting organizations and programs that provide resources for children to stay active and healthy for life. This is the fourth project 24 Hour Fitness has sponsored through KaBOOM!, including the construction of two playgrounds in Houston in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricane Ike in 2008. By the end of 2011, KaBOOM! will have led more than 150 playground builds across the country.
“KaBOOM! is thrilled to build yet another playground with our terrific partner 24 Hour Fitness,” said KaBOOM! Founder and CEO, Darell Hammond. “Like KaBOOM!, 24 Hour Fitness understands the critical need for children to have access to play spaces and we moved one step closer to the KaBOOM! vision of a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America by building this terrific new playground at Stoney Creek Apartments.”
Projects such as KaBOOM! playground builds are part of 24 Hour Fitness’ larger focus on building connections with and investing in the communities it serves. 24 Hour Fitness is also proud to give back through partnerships with other non-profits — like KaBOOM! — that promote the importance of youth fitness, equipment donations to public service groups and by serving as a resource in health and fitness with its Speakers Bureau on childhood obesity.
To learn more about 24 Hour Fitness, please visit www.24hourfitness.com. To learn more about KaBOOM! or Eden Housing, visit www.kaboom.org or www.edenhousing.org, respectively.
