Irish Channel Neighborhood Association

This Saturday, March 29 we’re going to finish the KaBOOM! playground at Soraparu Park — corner of Soraparu and Rousseau Streets.  Come meet us between 9:30 and 10 a.m. at the park.  We’ll work for about two hours installing an iron bench and trash can as well as digging holes, mixing and pouring concrete and installing bollards (steel posts for those, like me, who have no idea what a bollard is).  The chain to be hung between the bollards will be installed at a later time.  Lunch will be served after our work!

Mr. Timmons, an executive with the Ritz-Carlton (which is part of the Marriott group — which was the major and very generous sponsor of our Soraparu KaBOOM! build) is coming in from Phoenix with his family to help us finish up this park!

If it is raining, the Hill School has some indoor work with which they could use our help.

Other exciting news:  KaBOOM! has encouraged us to apply for another playground!  We are in the process of writing an application for the park at Tchoupitoulas and Pleasant Streets.  More to come!

Hope to see you on Saturday!

Live Oak School is building a new playground on 2/29/08 (first Saturday after Mardi Gras).  Come join your neighbors and volunteer school psychologists, in NOLA for a convention, to help build a fantastic new playground for Live Oak!  Thanks THRICE AGAIN to KaBOOM!  This is our neighborhood’s third KaBOOM! playground and our children are reaping the benefits from having safe and creative places for healthy play within walking distance of their homes.

We’re getting ready and set to go build a playground!  Please mark your calendars for Friday, November 2 and come be a part of the excitement.  Plan on arriving at 8 a.m., but come later if you can’t make it that early.  The celebratory ribbon cutting ceremony will be at 2:30 p.m. and we hope to have everything done by then!  Again, very special thanks to KaBOOM!, the Marriott, and The Hill School for making this possible.  The children of the Irish Channel have a lot to look forward to.

The KaBoom! planning meeting brought together not only the kids but the adults as well. We met with our KaBoom! team and several members of the local Marriott hotels who are providing not only financial help but so much more. 

 Joe Blanchek, General Manager of the Convention Center Marriott explained that this was going to be the team’s second playground build- they felt so good after the first one that they couldn’t wait to dive into another! Post-Katrina the hotels nationwide took up collections to help their New Orleans co-workers, and after Mr. Marriott matched the funds they had enough money to assist every employee with much leftover. 

These playgrounds are where much of the surplus is being invested.

And it doesn’t stop at the playground- they are very generously providing all food and beverages, volunteers, entertainment, medical assistance and more- well above and beyond the call of duty.

We truly appreciate all their help and look forward to working with them!  

The planning meeting with KaBoom! on Thursday afternoon was a blast- pun intended!

Lots of kids came out to see what this playground project would mean to them. They got very involved, taking over the measuring of the field:

Then it was time to head inside and get down to the serious business of the day.

Everyone gathered while Whitney, our KaBoom! project manager explained how it all worked, making sure the kids knew just how important they were in the process.

Then they went to work, each child imagining and drawing their ideal playground.

The plans were then shown off to the group before the kids went off to play and adults got down to details.

Meet at the playground at Soraparu and Rousseau to help design the new playground! 

We’re looking for 20 local children and 15 adults to come out and help design the new playground at Soraparu and Rousseau!  Gather at the playground at 3:30 p.m. and plan to stay until 5 p.m.  You’ll get to help select each piece of the playground, from design to placement and color.  Refreshments will be served! 

Cele has had a fantastic conference call with the KaBoom! offices- the Hill School has gotten a fantastic sponsor. Marriott has stepped forward to work with the school and neighborhood to put this project together.

 The next step will take place on August 22, where we will have a meeting with KaBoom! and as many local kids as possible to get an idea of what equipment they’d most like to have.

Cele Husing is the head of both the Schools and Kaboom! committees, and enjoys a close relationship with all three of the three local schools.

Kaboom! is coming back to the Irish Channel! Cele Husing is heading this project on behalf of the Neighborhood Association.