Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to Participate in KaBOOM! Playground Build at Windsor Cove

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to Participate in KaBOOM! Playground Build at Windsor Cove. WHERE: Windsor Cove Apartments, 1488 Mercy Dr., Orlando, FL 32808. WHEN: Thursday July 29, 9:00 a.m.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer will work-along with the Orlando Police Department (OPD) and a team of more than 200 volunteers to build a new playground for the children in the Windsor Cove Apartment community formerly known as The Palms. Volunteers from KaBOOM!, The Home Depot, Hopes and Dreams Team, Windsor Cove Tenant Association and Cambridge Management will join with the City to complete the state-of-the-art 2,500 square foot playground in just one-day.

This playground is another step in “Operation Free Palms” to prevent crime and improve living conditions at the complex. The Windsor Cove Apartment community has undergone a dramatic transformation through a partnership with the City and the Orlando Police Department over the past two years. The neighborhood has gone from a source of violent crime, drugs and even a triple-killing in July 2008 to a community committed to a safe neighborhood.

This new playground will provide more than 600 children in the Windsor Cove community - who currently use a 15-year old rundown playground, only accessible to children over five years of age - with a safe and new place to play. For the past two years, the City of Orlando has been named one of the nation’s “Playful City USA” communities by KaBOOM! in honor of its innovative efforts in making play a priority for local children.

This project in the Windsor Cove community is made possible through a $65,000 grant from The Home Depot Foundation and a $7,500 donation from Hopes and Dreams Team. The Home Depot will recycle all left over and unused materials remaining after the completion of the playground build in the Windsor Cove Apartments and donate any reusable supplies to other community organizations.

About KaBOOM!
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! is a national non-profit organization dedicated to saving play. Through community building, the organization 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 cindtruct 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 Play Makers-a national network of individual advocates for play. KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit kaboom.org

About The Home Depot Foundation
Created in 2002, The Home Depot Foundation supports nonprofit organizations dedicated to creating and preserving healthy, affordable homes as the cornerstone of sustainability communities. The Foundation’s goal is for all families to have the opportunity to live in healthy, efficient homes they can afford over the long-term; to have access to safe, vibrant parks and greenspaces; and to receive the economic, social and environmental benefits of living in a sustainable community. Since its formation, The Home Depot Foundation has granted $190 million to nonprofit organizations and supported the development of more than 95,000 homes, planted more than 1.2 million trees, and built or refurbished more than 1875 playgrounds, parks and greenspaces. For more information, visit homedepotfoundation.org and follow us on Twitter homedepotfdn.