On Saturday, a day of hard work fueled by generosity ended with a brand new playground at The Community YMCA’s Family Health and Wellness Center in Red Bank. For children in town, who helped with the design, it is a now an engaging outdoor play space where they have a safe place to play in the community to learn, grow and thrive for years to come.
In less than eight hours, and with the help of more than 200 volunteers from The Community YMCA, Good Neighbor Pharmacy and non-profit KaBOOM!, a 2,400 square-foot playground was built. Features include a Rocky Ridge Climber, Rumble Seat Slide and Swings. The playground was made possible by funds donated by Good Neighbor Pharmacy and matched by its parent company, AmerisourceBergen.
Helping the KaBOOM!, Good Neighbor Pharmacy and Y volunteers were members of the Junior League of Monmouth County, Raritan Valley Habitat for Humanity and students from Monmouth University and Middletown High School South.
Find out what's happening in Red Bank-Shrewsburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Rhonda Anderson, The Community YMCA President & CEO said “The Community YMCA is truly grateful to KaBOOM! and Good Neighbor Pharmacy for their generosity and commitment to ensuring that all children have a safe place to play. We thank them and the many hardworking volunteers and local businesses who supported this project. Together, we are making a lasting impact for children in our community.”
Planning for the playground began at a design day event held on September 3, where local children and community leaders met with organizers from KaBOOM! and Good Neighbor Pharmacy to design their dream playground. The children's drawings were then used to create the final playground design.
Find out what's happening in Red Bank-Shrewsburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
We are also thankful for the support from more than 15 local businesses who donated tools, food, and services, including:
· Bagelmasters, Shrewsbury
· Booskerdoo, Fair Haven
· Cupcake Magician, Red Bank
· Earth Pizza, Red Bank
· Foodtown
· Jersey Mike’s, Middletown
· LaRosas, Shrewsbury
· Manhattan Bagels, Red Bank
· Panera Bread, Shrewsbury
· Readies, Red Bank
· Sickles Market, Little Silver
· Surf Taco, Red Bank
· Starbucks, Red Bank
· Wegman’s, Ocean Twp
· Target
· Rosalie Moresco
· McKay Imaging
The Community YMCA
The Y is a leading nonprofit charity that strengthens communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. The Community YMCA serves more than 20,000 residents in greater Monmouth County through programs such as: preschool, before and after school care, health and wellness, leadership, arts enrichment, personal and family counseling and summer day camp. With a mission to serve all, more than $650,000 in reduced and free membership fees and programs is provided by the YCares financial assistance program to individuals and families in need. For more information, visit TheCommunityYMCA.org.
Good Neighbor Pharmacy
Good Neighbor Pharmacy is a national network of more than 3,200 independent community pharmacies.. Our mission is to provide communities with options when it comes to their healthcare needs, along with the personalized service, affordable products and care that only an independent community pharmacy can delivery. Good Neighbor Pharmacy is a program by AmerisourceBergen Corporation, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. With over $80 billion in annualized revenue, AmerisourceBergen is headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., and employs approximately 13,000 people. AmerisourceBergen is ranked #32 on the Fortune 500 list. For more information, go to GoodNeighborPharmacy.com and AmerisourceBergen.com.
KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to giving kids the childhood they deserve by bringing play to those who need it most. Children today spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation, a fact that is having disastrous consequences on their health, achievement levels, and overall well-being. Social entrepreneur Darell Hammond founded non-profit KaBOOM! in 1996 in Washington, D.C. with a vision of creating a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America because children need to play actively every day at home, in school and in their communities. Since then, KaBOOM! has mapped over 90,000 places to play, built more than 2,300 playgrounds, and successfully advocated for play policies in hundreds of cities across the country. KaBOOM! also provides communities with online tools to self-organize and take action to support play on both a local and national level. Hammond chronicles the founding of the organization and the importance of the cause of play in his The New York Times Best Seller KaBOOM!: A Movement to Save Play, now out in paperback. The book details how businesses and communities can work together to save play for children across the country. All author proceeds support KaBOOM!. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has an office in San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.
