Volunteers to Build New Playground at Wright Elementary

WHAT:  More than 200 volunteers from Dr Pepper Snapple Group and Des Moines Public Schools, organizers from KaBOOM! and residents of the local community will join forces on Thursday, June 9 to build a new playground at Wright Elementary. The new playground’s design is based on drawings created by children who participated in a Design Day event in April.

WHY: The project is part of Let’s Play, a community partnership led by Dr Pepper Snapple Group to get kids and families active nationwide. The first Let’s Play initiative is a $15 million, three-year commitment to KaBOOM! to build or fix up 2,000 playgrounds by the end of 2013, benefiting an estimated five million children across North America. Dr Pepper Snapple Group is also a member of the leadership circle within the KaBOOM! National Partner Program.

The new playground will provide more than 300 children in the local community with a safe place to play. Currently, the children living in the neighborhood and the children who attend Wright Elementary only have a small amount of old, out-dated equipment to enjoy, which will be replaced by the modern playground.

Today’s kids spend less time playing outside than any previous generation in part because only 1-in-5 children live within walking distance of a park or playground. This Play Deficit is having profound consequences for kids physically as well as mentally and socially. Children desperately need a place to play every day in order to be active and healthy. KaBOOM! is a national non-profit organization dedicated to saving play. For 15 years, KaBOOM! has been fighting the Play Deficit and saving play by ensuring there is a great place to play within walking distance of every child.

In addition to the community-built playground, the new play area will also include Imagination Playground in a Box – a breakthrough playspace concept designed by architect David Rockwell to encourage child-directed, unstructured free play. Via manipulable loose parts and natural elements like sand and water, Imagination Playground in a Box allows children to constantly change their environment and design their own course of play.

WHEN: Thursday, June 9

8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Kick off ceremony and volunteer deployment
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Best viewing of playground construction
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Final construction phase and adjustments
2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate new play area
(Note: all times approximate)

WHERE: Wright Elementary School, 5001 SW 14th Street, Des Moines, IA  50315

WHO: Hundreds of volunteers from the community

About Des Moines Public Schools/Wright Elementary School
Wright Elementary was built in 1961 on the south side of Des Moines. A neighborhood school, it houses 12 kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms. Wright became a Leonard Bernstein Artful Learning School in 2008, encouraging children to experience, inquire, create and reflect in their learning. Wright’s staff is dedicated to the individual needs of each student, in order to engage and challenge all children on their journey of lifelong learning. Wright has great parent support and exceptional students!

About Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) is the leading producer of flavored beverages in North America and the Caribbean. Our success is fueled by more than 50 brands that are synonymous with refreshment, fun and flavor. We have 6 of the top 10 non-cola soft drinks, and 9 of our 12 leading brands are No. 1 in their flavor categories. In addition to our flagship Dr Pepper and Snapple brands, our portfolio includes Sunkist soda, 7UP, A&W, Canada Dry, Crush, Mott’s, Squirt, Hawaiian Punch, Penafiel, Clamato, Schweppes, Venom Energy, Rose’s and Mr & Mrs T mixers. To learn more about our iconic brands and Plano, Texas-based company, please visit www.drpeppersnapple.com.

About Let’s Play
Let’s Play is a community partnership led by Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) to get kids and families active nationwide. The first Let’s Play initiative is a $15 million, three-year commitment to KaBOOM!, the national non-profit that’s saving play. Together, through Let’s Play, DPS and KaBOOM! will build or fix up 2,000 playgrounds by the end of 2013, benefiting an estimated five million children across North America.

About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to saving play. 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. To fight this Play Deficit, social entrepreneur Darell Hammond founded non-profit KaBOOM! 15 years ago in Washington, D.C. with a vision of creating a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since then, KaBOOM! has mapped over 85,000 places to play, built almost 2,000 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!: How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play. 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 offices in Chicago and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.