GameTime partners with ABC to revitalize a new orleans park
On April 6th, please take the time to sit
down in front of your T.V. and watch as the ABC's
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team transform a park into an oasis
of hope for the people of St. Bernard Parish, LA. GameTime was honored
to participate in the renovation, helping to bring a renewed hope to
an area just outside New Orleans that was utterly devastated by Hurricane
Katrina. Months have passed, and still homes stand as they did after
the waters receded.
This very special episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is scheduled
to air on your local ABC affiliate on Thursday, April 6th, in addition
to the customary Sunday evening program.
An Oasis of Hope
When the folks at ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition asked the GameTime Team if they were up for this Extreme project, there was a unanimous rally for the cause. Several employees agreed to head down to coordinate and choreograph a crew of volunteer installers, and make the project a reality in a quick 3 day start to finish. Since research has shown the tremendous positive effect that free play can have on children who have undergone trauma, we knew we wanted to make a difference in the lives of St Bernard Parish's children.
St Bernard Parish was just one of the many areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina on August 29th, 2005. The majority of people lost their homes in the tremendous flooding that engulfed many of the houses to their rooftops. Today, the few stouthearted residents who remained, or have come back, work bit by bit to piece their lives back together. Four hundred children of all ages attend classes at the local high school, the only school building to have been salvaged to the point of receiving them. Thousands eat at local soup tents, where they also receive clothing and medical attention. There are no grocery stores, no restaurants and only the most basic of services. Many of the children have not enjoyed the benefits of play since before the hurricane. It didn’t take long to realize that helping rebuild a play space for these children would have a lasting effect on not only the kids, but the entire community.
The GameTime team traveled to the site on Monday, and spent Tuesday plotting the location of the play system and helping to clean hurricane debris from the park. Wednesday was the actual build day and the team worked through the night in order to have the installation ready for concrete at 6am the next morning. Volunteers from the parish helped to spread the surfacing and the playground was ready for the reveal on Friday. Be sure to watch the program to see the step by step process, the kind and generous effort of all the volunteers who helped, and most of all, the faces of the children of the parish. More news to follow, please check back often!
GameTime was honored to participate in the renovation, helping to bring a renewed hope to an area just outside New Orleans that was utterly devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
