Lauderhill Community to Design Rare Multigenerational Playground

City of Lauderhill, FLIPANY, Humana Inc. and KaBOOM! host design day Thurs., June 16 for first-of-its-kind play and interactive space for all generations

WHAT: The City of Lauderhill Parks and Leisure Services Department, Florida Introduces Physical Activity and Nutrition to Youth (FLIPANY), Humana, Inc., and organizers from KaBOOM! will host a playground Design Day for children and seniors at the Environ Cultural Center in Lauderhill on Thurs., June 16. More than 50 community residents and children will play a direct role in planning and designing a multigenerational playground that will be built at Ruth Rothkopf Park on Wed., Aug. 3 at Ruth Rothkopf Park.

Design day will begin with area children drawing their DREAM playground. Kids from the community will put crayon to paper and draw what will ultimately become a reality. In fact, the elements of their drawings will be incorporated into the final design. Design Day will also be the first meeting of the playground planning committee that will work over the next seven weeks to plan and prepare for construction of the new playground.

Volunteers from Humana and the community will build the new, 2,500 sq. ft. community playground. This unique space will also include five standalone exercise stations for adults and senior citizens to enjoy. In addition, volunteers will build new picnic tables, benches, shade areas and an enhanced walking path.

WHY: The new Lauderhill community playground will provide a safe place to play for more than 1,200 children along with their parents and grandparents. Currently, children who play at Ruth Rothkopf Park only have a small amount of old, out-dated equipment to enjoy. The new multigenerational playground will accommodate people of all ages and abilities and provide a diverse gathering area for Lauderhill residents.

This innovative space will be the first playground funded by Humana through a partnership with KaBOOM! For 15 years, KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit whose vision is to create a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America, has been building playgrounds to fight Play Deficit (the lack of play in the lives of America’s children). This lack of play is having profound consequences on kids’ health and well-being. Today’s kids spend less time playing outside than any previous generation in part because only 1-in-5 children live within walking distance of a park or playground.

Humana, Florida’s largest Medicare health benefits company, is commemorating its 50th anniversary in August by donating funds, resources and time to this project in an effort to show gratitude to the South Florida community for its support over the years and to promote lifelong well-being for its citizens.

WHEN: Thursday, June 16
Noon to 1 p.m. Children designing their dream playground
1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers participating in planning meeting

WHERE: Environ Cultural Center, 3800 Environ Blvd, Lauderhill, FL 33319

VISUALS: Children drawing their dream playgrounds. Also, representatives from Humana, KaBOOM! and the City of Lauderhill will do a site walk to explore the current space at Ruth Rothkopf Park.