Please distribute to the members of the St. Bernard Track Club. Some
may be interested in volunteering for this good cause in their back
yard. The company where I am working (CDM Engineering) is one of the
sponsors. Some of your engineers have volunteered to help with the
design and construction.

Pamela
pamelaida@...
Cell: 504.669.6025
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: Polly Boudreaux [mailto:pboudreaux5@...]
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 5:15 PM
Subject: St. Bernard Community Playground Update



St. Bernard Community Playground

RE-Boot, RE-Pair and RE-Build

April 8-13, 2008



That's right, re-BOOT! It's time once again to pull up the boots,
put on construction hats and get to work on the St. Bernard Community
Playground Project. While Katrina caused only 3 days worth of
damage, the recent juvenile arsonist fire will bring community
volunteers together for a week to repair and rebuild exactly five
years to the day from the original build.



Unburned sections of the playground will receive new bolts, new
chains and a general face lift. The front entrance, the largest play
section which fell victim to the fire, will require an entire re-
build. Burned and hurricane damaged pickets must be identified and
replaced. A new play surface must be entirely restored to allow
access for all children of all abilities. And hopes are to add at
least two "birthday pavilions" adjacent to the playarea.



Important conversations with the original architectural firm have
begun and a fast paced timeline has been set into motion. This
includes an exciting Design Day with elementary children creatively
participating in the re-design on Wednesday, January 30. Students
representing each elementary school will gather at Andrew Jackson
Elementary at 9:30 a.m. on this day to dream and draw a new
playground into existence.



The entire community is then invited to an official unveiling of the
playground design Wednesday evening, January 30 at 7:00 p.m. in the
Chalmette High School Cafeteria. The party-like atmosphere will
provide informational opportunities for volunteer sign-up, donations
for build week and new picket sales. Refreshments will be served by
Chalmette High School Builder's/Key Club members.



Residents, community organizations and volunteer groups have begun to
offer financial support and pledges of their time in the re-build.
The Meraux Foundation, an anonymous donor and a post-Katrina St.
Bernard Chamber of Commerce grant have jumpstarted fundraising
efforts. Expectations for an incredible community effort to restore
the playground in time for summer can already be felt among the
children.



Mark your calendars and plan to be a part of this great "re-
booting"project...one giant step in the overall recovery of St.
Bernard Parish for children.



Please forward this e-mail to those you know who will want to be a
part of the process.

If you do not receive this e-mail directly from me and you wish to be
on the playground broadcast list please e-mail me.

And, if you have any questions, please e-mail me at
pboudreaux5@....



Polly Boudreaux

504-554-7134

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I hope they catch and crucify the little bastids that did that!