Kaiser Permanente helps support a new place for kids to play in South Stockton

Kaiser Permanente staff and physicians in the Central Valley joined more than 200 volunteers to help build a new playground at Liberty Square Park in Stockton.

The volunteer event, which took place on Saturday, June 11, 2016, was sponsored by Kaiser Permanente in conjunction with Reinvent South Stockton, and KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the simple mission of helping children play every day.

“This new playground will serve more than 1,200 children in this South Stockton neighborhood,” said Deborah Friberg, Sr. Vice President and Area Manager for Kaiser Permanente in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. “Enabling these kids and adults to have a healthy place to play and be active supports our commitment to building healthier communities.”

The playground construction day follows more than a month of planning, which included community meetings, and a design day, where local kids and adults came together to design the playground and choose from available components, such as a triple racing slide, rock climbing structures, monkey bars, a “spinning vortex,” and others.

In addition to the children’s play equipment, volunteers also installed an adult exercise course, and beautified the park with new paint, signage, and a United States mural.

A similar playground project is being planned for Stanislaus County; details will be announced once they are finalized.