Gov. Bush and Mayor Diaz Break Ground for CVS All Kids Can Boundless(TM) Playground
August 18 2006 - 10:11AM
PR Newswire (US)
First Miami City Park to Receive Playground Universally Accessible
to Children of All Abilities WOONSOCKET, R.I., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/
-- The CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust and CVS/pharmacy, in
partnership with Governor Jeb Bush and Mayor Manny Diaz, today held
a groundbreaking ceremony for one of eight CVS All Kids Can
Boundless(TM) playgrounds to be built across Florida. The
groundbreaking, held at Jorge Mas Canosa (Riverside) Park, marked
the first city park in Miami to receive a Boundless(TM) playground,
giving local children of all abilities a place to play and learn
together. CVS/pharmacy's dedication to making play spaces
universally accessible to children of all abilities is part of CVS
All Kids Can(TM), a five-year, $25 million commitment by the
CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust and CVS/pharmacy to support children
with disabilities. As part of this program, the CVS/pharmacy
Charitable Trust has earmarked $950,000 for the construction of
Boundless(TM) playgrounds in Florida. "CVS/pharmacy has a long
history of giving back to the communities in which we serve by
supporting children of all abilities," said David Rickard,
Executive Vice President of CVS/pharmacy. "With CVS All Kids Can,
we are supporting a program that offers children with disabilities
a chance to reach their greatest potential by focusing on their
abilities and developing essential skills for life." CVS All Kids
Can raises awareness in schools and in local communities about the
importance of inclusion. Among its key programs, CVS All Kids Can
supports barrier-free playgrounds so children of all abilities can
play side-by-side and provides medical rehabilitation and related
services to children with disabilities. In addition to its work
with Boundless Playgrounds(R), CVS/pharmacy and its more than
170,000 employees help children with disabilities learn, play and
succeed through partnerships with other leading national
nonprofits, such as Easter Seals, and local organizations across
the country. CVS/pharmacy has placed a high priority on building
Boundless(TM) playgrounds across Florida, tying into Governor
Bush's Florida Boundless Playgrounds Initiative to construct 50
Boundless(TM) playgrounds across the state. "We're proud to work
with CVS in an effort to achieve our goal of 50 Boundless(TM)
playgrounds, which will offer Florida's children of all abilities
an environment in which they can play and learn together," said
Gov. Bush. Ten percent of American children have a disability that
prevents them from enjoying traditional playgrounds with their
peers. In Florida alone, nearly 420,000 children have a disability
that requires them to receive special education services from the
U.S. Department of Education; this is 9.3% of children in Florida
vs. 7.8% nationally. "At Boundless Playgrounds, we strive to create
a world where children of all abilities can experience independent,
self-directed play at their highest level of ability," explained
Amy Jaffe Barzach, Executive Director/Co-founder of Boundless
Playgrounds. "With the help of the CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust
and CVS/pharmacy, thousands of children will be able to experience
the joy of playing at eight Boundless(TM) playgrounds across
Florida. All children, regardless of ability, can climb to the
highest play deck to feel like king or queen of the world." The
largest retail pharmacy chain in the United States, CVS/pharmacy
has more than 15,000 employees in Florida and operates 660 stores
and two distribution centers in the state. About the CVS/pharmacy
Charitable Trust The CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust, Inc. is a
private foundation managed by CVS Corporation, which operates
approximately 6,200 retail and specialty pharmacy stores in 43
states and the District of Columbia in addition to its online
pharmacy, CVS.com, and its pharmacy benefit management, mail order
and specialty pharmacy subsidiary, PharmaCare. The Trust's mission
is to provide funding for health care, education and community
involvement initiatives in communities where CVS/pharmacy stores
are located. General information about CVS is available through the
Investor Relations portion of the Company's website at
http://investor.cvs.com/, or through the press room portion of the
Company's website, at http://www.cvs.com/pressroom. About The
National Center for Boundless Playgrounds(R) The National Center
for Boundless Playgrounds is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
that provides leadership to help communities create extraordinary
playgrounds where all children, with and without disabilities, can
develop essential life skills as they learn together through play.
There are now 100 Boundless(TM) playgrounds in 21 states and Canada
and dozens more are currently in development. Boundless
Playgrounds, based in Connecticut, was founded in 1997 by a
passionate team of parents and professionals. For more information,
visit http://www.boundlessplaygrounds.org/. Michael DeAngelis
Maureen O'Connell (401) 770-2645 (617) 939-8330/(860) 539-0403
DATASOURCE: CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust CONTACT: Michael
DeAngelis of CVS, +1-401-770-2645, ; or Maureen O'Connell of Cone
Inc., +1-617-939-8330 or +1-860-539-0403, Web site:
http://www.cvs.com/ http://www.boundlessplaygrounds.org/
Copyright