Grant Park Cooperative Preschool Awarded $15,000 Grant

By Emily Staggs
Dr Pepper Snapple Group and national non-profit KaBOOM! awarded Grant Park Cooperative Preschool a $15,000 “Let’s Play” Playground Construction grant in June.
The grants are part of the first Let’s Play initiative introduced in November of last year–a $15 million, three-year commitment from Dr Pepper Snapple Group to KaBOOM!, the national non-profit, saving play by ensuring there is a great place to play within walking distance of every child. Together through Let’s Play, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM!, the money will be used to build or fix up 2,000 playgrounds by the end of 2013, benefiting an estimated five million children across North America.
Grant Park Cooperative Preschool (GPCP) is honored and overjoyed to receive KaBOOM’s generous grant. Stimulating play structures support our children in developing gross motor and social skills. Offering safe, stimulating structures is vital. The hope is to rejuvenate the playground in spring 2012 to ensure the safety of the children as well as those who live in the neighborhood.
Grant Park Cooperative Preschool submitted a grant application to Dr Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM! in May 2011 and was one of 35 organizations to receive a grant from a pool of hundreds of applicants.
KaBOOM’s $15,000 Let’s Play grant coupled with other donations will enable GPCP to put our dream into action. In spring 2012, GPCP hopes to replace the beloved yet well-worn play structures with newer, safer ones to be enjoyed by the school and the Grant Park community for years to come. Businesses that like to make a donation to this worthy cause can visit www.gpcp.org/playground, GPCP is a 501 (c)3 organization and donations are 100% tax deductible. Consumers are encouraged to visit Let’s Play on Facebook at www.facebook.com/letsplay to join the conversation and learn how to apply for grants.
Grant Park Cooperative Preschool is dedicated to providing children in the Grant Park community of Atlanta with a secure and loving environment utilizing music, art, language, and literature in an innovative approach that allows students to direct the learning process. GPCP is a cooperative effort in which parents take responsibility for the education of children through daily involvement in all aspects of school operations. The school was founded in 2000 by a group of dedicated parents. At Grant Park Cooperative School, we believe that the community, parents, and teachers should all work together to help the children discover their individual strengths and develop their relationship skills.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) is the leading producer of flavored beverages in North America and the Caribbean. Their success is fueled by more than 50 brands that are synonymous with refreshment, fun, and flavor. We have six of the top 10 non-cola soft drinks, and 9 of the 12 leading brands are No. 1 in their flavor categories. In addition to the flagship Dr Pepper and Snapple brands, their 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 these iconic brands and the Plano, Texas-based company, please visit www.drpeppersnapple.com.
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. For more information, visit Let’s Play on Facebook at www.facebook.com/letsplay or online at www.LetsPlay.com.
KaBOOM! is a national nonprofit 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 more than 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, California. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.