Children in the city of Oakland will now have the opportunity to get the balanced and active play they need to thrive, thanks in part to a brand new community playground at Burkhalter Park. In less than eight hours, more than 200 resident volunteers from the city of Oakland, KaBOOM! and Morgan Stanley will build the new kid-designed playspace, which will provide more than 1,400 Oakland children with the fundamental resources for a healthy start they need for consistent and meaningful achievement in life.

In March of this year, Council Member Desley Brooks was awarded a KaBOOM! grant, sponsored by Morgan Stanley, to make improvements to the play area at Burkhalter Park.

“We were so excited that we were selected for this grant because the new play structure and other amenities will bring new life to Burkhalter,” said Council Member Brooks.

Today’s playground build at Burkhalter Park celebrates the Oakland kickoff of Healthy Cities, the Morgan Stanley-sponsored program to fuel innovation in delivering wellness, nutrition and play resources to children in underserved neighborhoods. Building on Morgan Stanley's Global Alliance for Children's Health, the program will connect Oakland-based non-profit organizations to create a coordinated network providing the fundamentals that can underpin a child’s healthy start in life.

Joan Steinberg, Global Head of Philanthropy at Morgan Stanley, said, “For well over 40 years, Morgan Stanley has been deeply committed to children’s health. We are thrilled to be working with terrific partners across the Oakland community to create new programs that give children the healthy start they need for lifelong achievement.”

"At KaBOOM!, we believe play matters for all kids," said Darell Hammond, founder and CEO of KaBOOM!. "We are thrilled to partner with Morgan Stanley on this new national initiative to help provide kids with the childhood they deserve by working with cities to increase healthy resources and play opportunities for families."

Council Member Desley Brooks

Council Member Desley Brooks is committed to improving the quality of life for the residents in her District and the city of Oakland. To that end, she has dedicated her energies to improving public safety, increasing economic development, improving the physical environment of District 6, and advocating on behalf of children and youth. She has worked to revitalize the District's neighborhoods and commercial corridors. The Morgan Stanley KaBOOM! build will be the 5th KaBOOM! build Council Member Brooks has secured for her District. She has previously built a play structure, pocket park, skateboard park, and football field. Burkhalter Park is located in Council Member Brooks' Councilmatic District.

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 1,200 offices in 43 countries. Through its Global Alliance for Children's Health, the Firm is dedicated to improving the lives and welfare of the world's youngest citizens. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.

KaBOOM!

KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to the bold new goal of ensuring that all children, particularly the 16 million American children living in poverty, get the balanced and active play they need to thrive. KaBOOM! has been a powerful champion for play since its founding in 1996, working with partners to build, improve and open more than 15,000 playgrounds, engage more than 1,000,000 volunteers and serve more than 6,600,000 children. KaBOOM! creates and catalyzes great places to play, inspires, empowers and leads play advocates, and educates and elevates the societal conversation about the importance of play in children’s lives. For more information, visit kaboom.org/act or follow the conversation on why #playmatters at twitter.com/kaboom or facebook.com/kaboom.

KaBOOM!

KaBOOM!

KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to the bold goal of ensuring that all children, particularly the 16 million American children living in poverty, get the active play they need to become healthy and successful adults. KaBOOM! has been a powerful champion for play since its founding in 1996, working with partners to build, improve, and open more than 15,000 playgrounds, engage more than 1,000,000 volunteers and serve more than 6,600,000 children. KaBOOM! creates and catalyzes great places to play; inspires, empowers and leads play advocates; and elevates the societal conversation about the importance of play in children’s lives. For more information, visit kaboom.org/act.

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