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PATERSON, N.J., May 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Children at Paterson Public School No. 5 received a brand new playground thanks to the efforts of more than 200 volunteers from Roche, New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC), Paterson's Public School District, and organizers from non-profit KaBOOM!. The new playground provides the 1,300-plus students enrolled at Paterson Public School No. 5 as well as children living in the neighborhood with a safe place to play. As a result of this joint community effort, an extension of Paterson Public Schools' Full Service Community Schools Initiative, the new playground will serve thousands of children in Paterson for years to come.
Planning for the playground began at a Design Day event held in March when local children and community leaders met with organizers from KaBOOM!, Roche and NJCDC to design their dream playground. The children's drawings were then used to create the final playground design.
"This was a great opportunity to partner with local organizations and have an immediate impact in our local community," said Patricia Hughes, Director, Corporate Relations and Contributions at Roche. "Also, this is a great opportunity for our employees, as they find working on the project like this as not only very rewarding but also fun. We feel privileged to be able to transform Paterson Public School #5's asphalt lot into a modern, safe playground."
In less than eight hours, the child-designed playground was built from scratch by hundreds of volunteers from Roche, the New Jersey Community Development Corporation and the surrounding community. This entailed volunteers moving 58,320 square feet of safety surfacing, as well as more than 10,000 pounds of concrete by hand during the day.
"Thanks to our partnership with NJCDC, and the additional support from organizations such as Roche and KaBOOM!, our District's Full Service Community Schools Initiative has gained momentum at record speed," sa
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