MORGAN STANLEY VOLUNTEERS FOR PLAYGROUND CONSTRUCTION

From bare ground to finished playground in under six hours!

More than 200 volunteers arrived at the Rochambeau Center on Fisher Avenue in White Plains on Thursday, June 27. Their goal:  to transform an empty lot into a welcoming, safe and fun play space for neighborhood children. Within hours, the lot had become the realization of the children’s own imaginations.

Despite the uncomfortably high heat and humidity, 110 employees from regional offices of Morgan Stanley, joined by about 100 other volunteers and residents from the area, successfully completed the construction of a brightly colored playground with state-of-the-art equipment.  Previously, the children who used the community center – including those at Family Services of Westchester and Universal Pre-Kindergarten programs – did not have a playground.

Gregory Fleming, head of wealth management at Morgan Stanley, joined in the ribbon cutting, highlighting his firm’s commitment to engage in community outreach and support.  He congratulated the volunteers and joined with the preschool children in pulling apart a colorful paper chain to mark the completion of the project.

The effort was directed by KaBOOM!, a national non-profit dedicated to bringing play to deserving children.  Since its inception in 1996 it has built more than 2,200 playgrounds in cities across the country. 

The design of the playground was based on children’s drawings from a Design Day event held in April.  The space incorporates large decorative flower boxes as well as benches from which parents can comfortably supervise their kids.  The playground covers approximately 2,500 square feet.

“Only one in five children in America live within walking distance of a park or playground,” said Joan Steinberg, Global Head of Philanthropy for Morgan Stanley.  “Kids spend less time playing outside than any previous generation.  This is having profound consequences for kids physically, socially, and cognitively.”

Morgan Stanley, a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services, has spearheaded many charitable programs, particularly those aimed at children, such as its annual

“Fill the Plate” and Back Pack programs held in conjunction with Feeding America and local food pantries.

The playground is one of four area projects undertaken by Morgan Stanley in association with the 2014 Super Bowl Host Committee’s NY/NJ Snowflake Youth Foundation to create safe and lasting play space.  It is also one of more than 150 playground builds KaBOOM! will lead nationwide in 2013.