The Unity Council, Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, Ripple, and KABOOM! Unveil Kid-Designed Playground at 2000 36th Avenue
Chris Helfrich, CEO - Eat. Learn. Play., Jonathan Perri, Social Impact Manager - Ripple, and Noel Gallo - Council Member District 5, City of Oakland officially cut the ribbon to the new play space at 2000 36th Avenue Apartments.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oakland, CA – June 27, 2022 –
Today, kids at 2000 36th Avenue in Oakland, CA are celebrating as the community debuts a kid-designed playground. The months-long collaboration between the Unity Council, Eat. Learn. Play., Ripple, and KABOOM! culminated this week as more than 260 volunteers installed the new playspace, which will offer over 100 Oakland youth a high-quality, safe place to play right where they live.
The new playground is a collaborative effort by community members, including kids, who presented creative ideas for their dream playground during a design day on May 14th. The playground is inspired by those drawings and will provide 100 kids and their families with a place to get active, build social bonds, and gather as a community for years to come.
“This project has centered on the voices of children and families from the beginning,” said Chris Iglesias, CEO of The Unity Council. “Our affordable housing developments at 2000 36th Avenue have been essential not just to the families who lived there but to generations of immigrants who have called these developments home. The playspaces built today will improve the health and well-being of Oakland’s essential workers and close a racial equity gap. We are grateful to all our partners – Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, Ripple, and KABOOM! – for their commitment to the Fruitvale community.”
“Ripple is proud to continue our long-standing partnership with Stephen & Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play Foundation through the building of this new playspace and community garden. We are also grateful for the guidance and welcoming spirit of our partners at KABOOM! and The Unity Council,” said Ken Weber, Vice President of Social Impact & Sustainability at Ripple. “This new playground will further our shared mission to create livable playspaces and sustainable food sources for everyone, as part of our deepening commitment to Bay Area communities."
“Playgrounds are an iconic part of childhood. They’re not only where kids collect some of their best memories, but also where crucial skills are developed that nurture their physical, mental and emotional well-being,” said Lysa Ratliff, CEO of KABOOM!. “KABOOM! is thrilled to work with our partners to bring to life the new playspace at 36th Avenue and ensure that kids in Oakland have a place designed just for them to play, learn, and unlock their greatest potential.”
“We often say ‘it takes a village’ when it comes to improving the lives of children and families,” said Chris Helfrich, CEO of Eat. Learn. Play. “This project reflects our villages coming together to ensure youth in Oakland have access to safe and equitable playspaces that support their physical and social development for generations to come. As kids experience the joy and wonder of this fun playground, our hope is that parents feel inspired too, with a greater sense of belonging and connection to the community around them.”
We would like to thank the following engineering and laborer groups who invested countless hours building the foundation for this playspace: WA Associates, ER Construction, The Harold Group, SOHA Engineering, Telamon Engineering Consultants, and Webcor Builders.
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About Unity Council
The Unity Council is a non-profit Social Equity Development Corporation with over 50 years of history in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland. Our mission is to promote social equity and improve quality of life by building vibrant communities where everyone can work, learn, and thrive. Our programs aim to provide the community with the tools, knowledge, and resources to transform their lives and ultimately achieve their long-term educational, career, and financial goals. These holistic programs and services reach more than 11,000 individuals and families annually in five languages. Programs include early childhood education, youth mentorship and leadership development, employment services, career readiness training, housing and financial stability, senior citizen services, affordable housing and neighborhood development, and arts and cultural events. The Unity Council employs a diverse workforce of more than 250 people who reflect the linguistic, cultural, and ethnic identity of the communities we serve. Our work expands beyond the Fruitvale district and now reaches across Oakland and into Concord.
About Eat. Learn. Play.
Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation is an organization dedicated to unleashing the potential of every child, paving the way for amazing kids and opening doors to bright futures. Founded by Stephen and Ayesha Curry in 2019, Eat. Learn. Play. launched with a focus on improving the lives of kids and families in Oakland, the Bay Area and across the country. Rooted in three of the most vital pillars for a healthy childhood—nutrition, education and physical activity—Eat. Learn. Play. is working to ensure that every child in Oakland has access to the nutritious food they need to be healthy and thrive; resources to learn and love to read; and safe places and equitable opportunities to play. The organization, which is anchored around the message that children are our future, is committed to developing partnerships and initiatives that make a positive impact for generations to come.
About Ripple
Ripple is a crypto solutions company that transforms how the world moves, manages and tokenizes value. Ripple’s business solutions are faster, more transparent, and more cost effective - solving inefficiencies that have long defined the status quo. And together with partners and the larger developer community, we identify use cases where crypto technology will inspire new business models and create opportunity for more people. With every solution, we’re realizing a more sustainable global economy and planet - increasing access to inclusive and scalable financial systems while leveraging carbon neutral blockchain technology and a green digital asset, XRP. This is how we deliver on our mission to build crypto solutions for a world without economic borders.
About KABOOM!
KABOOM! is the national nonprofit committed to ending playspace inequity – the reality that quality places to play are not available to every child, especially in communities of color. Since 1996, KABOOM! has partnered with kids and communities to build or improve 17,000+ playspaces and ensure that nearly 12 million kids have equitable access to the crucial benefits and opportunities that playspaces offer. In 2022, KABOOM! launched the 25 in 5 Initiative to End Playspace Inequity, the $250 million plan to accelerate its mission in 25 high-priority locations over five years. Learn more at kaboom.org or join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
CONTACTS:
Caheri Gutierrez
Unity Council
E: cgutierrez@unitycouncil.org
O: 510-755-9551
Stacey Ngo
Ripple
E: press@ripple.com
Tamara Grider
KABOOM!
E: tgrider@kaboom.org
Eat. Learn. Play.
Tom Dietz
E: tdietz@id-pr.com | C: 303-506-2228
Stephen Baruch
E: sbaruch@id-pr.com | C: 631-388-1367