The Community YMCA, Good Neighbor Pharmacy and KaBOOM! Build Playground in Just One Day for Red Bank Children

Press Release:

The Community YMCA, Good Neighbor Pharmacy and KaBOOM! Build Playground in Just One Day for Red Bank Children

RED BANK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 2013-- A dream is now a reality for children in Red Bank as their drawings were turned into a new playground on Saturday, November 2nd. In less than eight hours, a play space was built at The Community YMCA’s Family Health and Wellness Center with the help of more than 200 volunteers from The Community YMCA, Good Neighbor Pharmacy and non-profit KaBOOM!. The new playground – which was made possible by funds donated by Good Neighbor Pharmacy and matched by its parent company, AmerisourceBergen – will serve hundreds of children in the community for years to come. “The Community YMCA is truly grateful to KaBOOM! and Good Neighbor Pharmacy for their generosity and commitment to ensuring that all children have a safe place to play,” said The Community YMCA President & CEO Rhonda Anderson. “We thank them and the many hardworking volunteers and local businesses who supported this project. Together, we are making a lasting impact for children in our community.” Planning for the playground began at a design day event held on September 3, where local children and community leaders met with organizers from KaBOOM! and Good Neighbor Pharmacy to design their dream playground. The children's drawings were then used to create the final playground design. “Good Neighbor Pharmacy is thrilled to have the opportunity to give back to local communities like Red Bank through our partnership with KaBOOM!,” says AJ Caffentzis, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, at AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation. “We are committed to the health and well-being of our customers, employees and communities. Our Good Neighbor Pharmacy members, in particular, remain cornerstones of their respective communities, working to improve patient access and patient health in local neighborhoods across the country. We view our partnership with KaBOOM! as an extension of our commitment to local communities.” Thanks to the work of Good Neighbor Pharmacy, The Community YMCA and KaBOOM!, children and their families now have a 2,400 square-foot playground to call home that includes features such as a Rocky Ridge Climber, Rumble Seat Slide and Swings. The playground is the first of five that will be built together by KaBOOM! and Good Neighbor Pharmacy. In 2013, KaBOOM! will build more than 150 playgrounds across the country in an effort to fulfill its vision of providing a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. The Community YMCA The Y is a leading nonprofit charity that strengthens communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. The Community YMCA serves more than 20,000 residents in greater Monmouth County through programs such as: preschool, before and after school care, health and wellness, leadership, arts enrichment, personal and family counseling and summer day camp. With a mission to serve all, more than $650,000 in reduced and free membership fees and programs is provided by the YCares financial assistance program to individuals and families in need. For more information, visit TheCommunityYMCA.org. Good Neighbor Pharmacy Good Neighbor Pharmacy is a national network of more than 3,200 independent community pharmacies. Our mission is to provide communities with options when it comes to their healthcare needs, along with the personalized service, affordable products and care that only an independent community pharmacy can delivery. Good Neighbor Pharmacy is a program by AmerisourceBergen Corporation, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. With over $80 billionin annualized revenue, AmerisourceBergen is headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., and employs approximately 13,000 people. AmerisourceBergen is ranked #32 on the Fortune 500 list. For more information, go toGoodNeighborPharmacy.com and AmerisourceBergen.com. KaBOOM! KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to giving kids the childhood they deserve by bringing play to those who need it most. Children today spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation, a fact that is having disastrous consequences on their health, achievement levels, and overall well-being. Social entrepreneur Darell Hammond founded non-profit KaBOOM! in 1996 in Washington, D.C. with a vision of creating a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America because children need to play actively every day at home, in school and in their communities. Since then, KaBOOM! has mapped over 90,000 places to play, built more than 2,300 playgrounds, and successfully advocated for play policies in hundreds of cities across the country. KaBOOM! also provides communities with online tools to self-organize and take action to support play on both a local and national level. Hammond chronicles the founding of the organization and the importance of the cause of play in his The New York Times Best Seller KaBOOM!: A Movement to Save Play, now out in paperback. The book details how businesses and communities can work together to save play for children across the country. All author proceeds support KaBOOM!. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has an office in San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org. Source: AmerisourceBergen