ATLANTA (July 29, 2013) – Sen. Valencia Seay (D-Riverdale) volunteered for two days last week to build a playground at the Riverdale Regional Park. The City of Riverdale and KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit organization fighting childhood obesity by providing a healthy environment for children to play, partnered through a grant to build a new playground.
“Giving back to the community defines who I am,” said Sen. Seay. “I look forward to my own grandchildren playing on Riverdale’s new playground, which makes it an honor to have been a partner in erecting its structure.”
According to a 2009 Georgia student health survey, 55,000 high school students and 43,000 middle school students are obese, which means their body mass index for their age is in the 95th percentile or higher. In addition, a 2005 Georgia Oral Health Screening found 28,000 or 24 percent of third grade children are obese. Childhood obesity is an increasing problem, and it has doubled in children and tripled in adults across the nation in the last 30 years according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
KaBOOM! was founded in 1996 by Darell Hammond, who had a vision of creating a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since then, KaBOOM! has mapped more than 90,000 places to play, built more than 2,200 playgrounds, and successfully advocated for play policies in hundreds of cities across the country.
RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
July 29, 2013
For Information Contact:
Jennifer Yarber, Interim Director
Kate Greer, Broadcast Specialist
Kate.Greer@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028