While my sisters and I were home in New Jersey last month we decided it would be fun to take a walk down memory lane- literally.
For us that meant strolling down the sidewalks of the town in which we grew up, ending with a stop at the local playground. Like so many other adults we can look back on our own childhoods and recall vivid memories of playing on neighborhood playgrounds. Growing up we spent hours seeing who could swing the highest, jump the farthest, and climb across the monkey-bars the fastest. That playground was where we made friends, played make-believe, and where we knew that someday we would take our own children. Unfortunately, the experiences that we had growing up are not the same as those experienced by this generation. With all the new technologies readily available to them, children do not spend as much time outdoors, playing, swinging, and climbing across monkey-bars.
Enter KaBOOM!, a non-profit organization “dedicated to saving play for America’s children” and “mission [it] is to create great play spaces through the participation and leadership of communities.” For their most recent undertaking in eastern North Carolina, KaBOOM! has partnered with Healthy Places North Carolina an initiative of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, the town of Enfield, and the Enfield Parks and Recreation Department to give the children of Enfield a beautiful brand new playground. These organizations, in conjunction with more than 200 volunteers and a handful of corporate sponsors, will come together this Saturday, November 23 from 8am-2:30pm to transform Meyer’s Park into a special place for the children of Enfield.
With 25.7% of Enfield’s population under the age of 18 (according to the 2010 census), it is imperative that we work together to help these children to create memories of their own at their new neighborhood playground.
If you are interested in volunteering on Saturday please email intern2@ncchild.org or call Juanita Powell, Director of Enfield Parks and Recreation at 252-904-6176.