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LEXINGTON,
Ky. (April 20, 2004) -- Several
Lexington organizations gathered today for a
ceremony to break ground on a playground that
organizers hope will help prevent injuries to
children in a neighborhood with one of the highest
numbers of injuries in the city. The playground
will be constructed in Gainesway Park.
A
$60,000 University
of Kentucky Children’s Hospital grant
received from the Allstate
Foundation and the Injury
Free Coalition for Kids provided the last missing
piece of money for the playground, long envisioned
by a group including the Gainesway Empowerment
Center, the United
Way Success By 6® initiative, LexLinc,
the Lexington-Fayette
Urban County Government Division of Parks and Recreation and
Minnifield-Cutter-Ball Inc.
Work
on the playground site begins this National Playground
Safety Week and will be completed during the summer.
Over the past three years, the Injury Free Coalition
for Kids and the Allstate Foundation together have
built 14 playgrounds in the United States.
“Providing
for the health and safety of our children lays
a firm foundation for stronger, more vital neighborhoods,” said
Ron Corbin, Field Vice President for Allstate’s
Southern Region.
For
years, Gainesway Empowerment Center director Mattie
Morton, B.S.W., has worried about unsafe play conditions
for children in the neighborhood.
“They
play in the streets, slide down the hill into the
street, and all try to pile on to the one tire
swing,” she said. “Just a few weeks
ago, a child had to be treated at the hospital
for injuries.”
UK
Hospital trauma data analysis conducted by the
Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Lexington showed
the Gainesway zip code to consistently rank in
the top three for numbers of trauma cases involving
children under age 18 in Fayette County from 1995-2001.
“We
hope that this playground will make a real difference
for the community,” said Susan Pollack, M.D.,
the UK Children’s Hospital pediatrician who
directs the Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Lexington. “It
is important that everyone come together to help
prevent injury. It is the number one cause of death
of young people.”
The
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Division
of Parks and Recreation will provide the land for
the playground, in addition to $40,000 generated
from a communications tower lease agreement. City
engineers have obtained an additional grant to
renovate an existing pond at Gainesway Park into
a wetland with trails.
"The
Division of Parks and Recreation is grateful to
all of those who have partnered to make the park
a reality," said Chuck Ellis, director, Lexington-Fayette
Urban County Government Division of Parks and Recreation. "Recreation
opportunities are part of what make Lexington a
great place to live and the efforts of those involved
are improving those opportunities for Lexington
citizens."
A
$30,000 donation was given by the United Way Success
by 6 initiative, which is a national community-based
movement of public and private partnerships that
work together to deliver proven solutions in early
childhood development that ensure all children
ages 0 to 6 are healthy, nurtured and ready to
succeed. The Success by 6 donation was matched
by Minnifield-Cutter-Ball Inc.
"The
Gainesway area has been a priority for both Minnifield-Cutter-Ball
Inc. and the Success by 6 initiative since it started
three years ago,” said Kathy Plomin, president
and chief professional officer of United Way of
the Bluegrass. “The birth rate within that
area is three times of any other area in Lexington
and with our emphasis on the prenatal to six year
old population we felt we should target our efforts
for that area to make an impact. The park and playground
will be a very welcomed and needed addition for
Gainesway's many young families and Success by
6 is proud to be part of this successful collaboration
for the neighborhood."
Plans
for the new unique and colorful playground were
designed jointly by John L. Carman and Associates,
a Lexington landscape architecture firm, and David
Strong of Bluegrass Recreation/Little Tikes. The
playground construction will be complete by the
end of the year.
Chapel
Hill Presbyterian Church members are helping with
several aspects of the playground and park.
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