MEDIA ADVISORY
Hopkins House – James L. & Juliette McNeil Preschool Academy Seeks Kids’ Design Expertise for New Community Playground
WHEN: June 22, 2022
4:00PM – Kids create & share design ideas
5:00PM – Community volunteers participate in planning meeting
WHERE: James L. & Juliette McNeil Preschool Academy
8543 Forest Place (Corner of Rt 1 – Richmond Hwy)
Alexandria, VA 22309
WHAT: Washington Capitals right wing Garnet Hathaway, Washington Wizards guard Jordan Schakel and Washington Mystics mascot Pax will participate in a playground design session with students from Hopkins House – James L. & Juliette McNeil Preschool Academy.
Meet and speak with representatives from Hopkins House, Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation, and KABOOM! to learn more about the creation of the community-designed playground at the Hopkins House – James L. & Juliette McNeil Preschool Academy.
Media may collect photos and b-roll of kid design activities. Masks will be required for this event.
J. Glenn Hopkins, Hopkins House President; Deborah Boateng-Beckson, Preschool Academy Principal; and Elizabeth Pace, MSE Foundation President and Executive Director, will all be available for questions.
CONTACT: To RSVP as a media attendee, contact
J. Glenn Hopkins
(571) 480-4093
Hopkins@HopkinsHouse.org
ADDITIONAL INFO: Hopkins House is partnering with Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation and KABOOM! to bring a kid- and community-designed playground to its James L. & Juliette McNeil Preschool Academy in the Mount Vernon community of southeast Fairfax County, VA. Local kids will kick off the community planning process by creating drawings of their dream playgrounds; elements from those drawings will be incorporated into design options for the playgrounds.
In July, the community will vote on the final playground design. Playground construction is slated for September 13-15, 2022.
The project will provide hundreds of kids each year with a safe and inclusive place to play. It is part of a nationwide effort by KABOOM! to end playspace inequity – the reality that places to play are not available to every child, especially in communities of color.
Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation, the charitable arm of the Washington Capitals, Washington Mystics and Washington Wizards, is funding this new playground that will be built in September. This will be the eighth KABOOM! playground in the D.C. metropolitan area funded by MSE Foundation and built with involvement by its teams.
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About Hopkins House
Founded in 1939, Hopkins House is a nonprofit, high-impact, community-based learning center for children, youth, and their families, operating education enriched preschool academies for infants and children, summer discovery camps for adolescents, and a college and career development institute for teens and adults that help build the foundation for 21st century achievement and success in the new global economy. Learn more at HopkinsHouse.org.
About Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation
MSE Foundation is committed to making the region a better place for all by supporting game-changing solutions for our community. We fundraise, provide grants to nonprofits and rally Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s teams and fans to support and amplify the impact of community change agents. Together, we’re raising the game in the DMV. Learn more at https://www.monumentalfoundation.org/ and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
About KABOOM!
KABOOM! is the national nonprofit committed to ending playspace inequity – the reality that quality places to play are not available to every child, especially in communities of color. Since 1996, KABOOM! has partnered with kids and communities to build or improve 17,000+ playspaces and ensure that nearly 12 million kids have equitable access to the crucial benefits and opportunities that playspaces offer. In 2022, KABOOM! launched the 25 in 5 Initiative to End Playspace Inequity, the $250 million plan to accelerate its mission in 25 high-priority locations over five years. Learn more at kaboom.org or join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
