United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County, KABOOM! and Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District hosted a design day public input session in Uvalde on August 7 to get feedback from families that will inform the design of a brand new play space that will be built at Morales Junior High.
One of the proposals selected to use United with Uvalde funds, KABOOM has a long history of building exciting and interactive play spaces. Make no mistake, this is no playground. This will be an area where children can find a sense of belonging.
Playing is a key part of childhood development with several emotional, social and physical benefits. Based on the feedback from the parents and children of Uvalde, this play space will feature technology-based interactive activities, ziplines, spaces for relaxation and more. The feedback received from the community during design day will shape the features and experiences that the play space ultimately delivers.
“I would like to see an obstacle course,” says Rosalinda, a parent of an 8th grader at Morales Junior High. “Thinking about the transition between elementary to middle school, they don’t have field days anymore. They would enjoy the zipline and of course, the shaded, covered areas to take a little break and chit-chat. We really appreciate allowing our students to have this experience,” she added.
This project represents just one of the proposals selected to use money from the United with Uvalde fund. 100% of the money from the fund has been used to support immediate and long-term mental health services of the Uvalde community. The funds will also address any emerging needs that develop in the future.
In total, 13 nonprofit organizations across two requests for proposals were selected. These organizations are providing critical support in the Uvalde community, including mental health support in Uvalde CISD schools, access to equipment designed to improve mental health for residents ages 12+, counseling and more.
Morales Junior High is the community’s only school for 7th and 8th graders, currently home to 500 students. This means that all students in the community in the future will enjoy this new play space, an example of generational impact.
“Every student enrolled in Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) will experience this interactive play space as they travel from grade level to grade level,” said Anne Marie Espinoza, executive director of communications for UCISD. “The work being done here will be experienced for generations to come.”
In November, United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County, KABOOM, UCISD and hundreds of volunteers will build this new play space at Morales Junior High.
Please check uwsatx.org in the coming months for a callout to all volunteers in San Antonio to help make this amazing new play space a reality for the children who attend Morales Junior High.
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Categories: Volunteer |
