11-01-04 | News

Building Playgrounds One Loader at a Time

By Jodie Carter, interim managing editor

 

Children stand in post-holes drilled by a donated Bobcat auger to support a play structure. The non-profit KaBoom! Corporation has raised $20 million toward building accessible playgrounds since its start in 1995. In 2003, local Bobcat dealers donated equipment to build playgrounds in 13 cities.

Bobcat dealerships across North America are teaming up with the Washington, D.C.-based KaBoom! corporation (a non-profit corporation that helps build playgrounds) to help build playgrounds for children at schools, shelters and parks throughout the United States. KaBoom! works with communities and corporations to build safe and accessible playgrounds for children who need them, and has helped construct more playgrounds (over 600) than any other U.S. service organization.

The Bobcat Company is supporting “a child’s right to play” by donating use of equipment including skid-steer loaders, 5600s with attachments and Toolcats.

“Our mission is simple: to create healthy play opportunities for young people,” said Jennie Connor, KaBOOM! project manager. “Bobcat is helping us do that by donating valuable equipment that allows our community partners to focus their resources on what’s really important–the playground.”

Local-Level Involvement

The Bobcat Company decided to donate use of its compact equipment to KaBOOM! on a “build-by-build” basis after learning about the organization’s efforts.

“We saw this as an incredible opportunity to get involved, on a local level, with a worthwhile cause,” said Gary Hornbacher, North American marketing manager for Bobcat Company. “In the end, we rely on our dealer network to donate and deliver the equipment, and we couldn?EUR??,,????'???t be more proud of our dealers for being so enthusiastic and generous with their time and resources.”