CONTACT:
Habitat for Humanity of Broward: Robyn Harper | (954) 396-3030, ext. 228 | robyn@habitatbroward.org
JM Family Enterprises, Inc.: Lauren Fyke | (954)648-5462 | lauren.fyke@jmfamily.com
KaBOOM!: Tamara Grider | 202-464-6196 | tgrider@kaboom.org

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – On Saturday, October 12, more than 200 volunteers from JM Family Enterprises, Inc., Habitat for Humanity of Broward and the Pompano Beach community joined KaBOOM! to build a kid-inspired playground in Habitat’s historic 77 home community in Pompano. The new playground will serve the urgent need for kids to have a great, safe place to play.

In July, neighborhood children put crayons to paper and drew their dream playground. The playground was designed based on these drawings and the community came together to pick the final design. The new play space includes multiple slides, a swaying bridge and a rock-climbing wall.

The majority of volunteers came from JM Family Enterprises, the playground’s sponsor. They constructed the playground from start to finish in less than six hours. They mixed and poured thousands of pounds of concrete and moved enough safety surfacing to cover more than nine NBA-sized basketball courts. The new playground will serve thousands of kids in Pompano Beach over its lifetime.

“We are so very grateful to JM Family for making this playground possible,” said Nancy Robin, Habitat Broward CEO & Executive Director. “They continue to amaze us. Thanks to them, our families and the families in the surrounding neighborhood will have a beautiful playground where they can climb, romp, slide, play and grow together.”

Working with Habitat for Humanity and KaBOOM! closely aligns with our goal of improving communities and strengthening families, making our longstanding partnerships with these two groups all the more valuable,” said Brent Burns, President & CEO, JM Family. “The commitment our associates demonstrate with these volunteer projects reflects their desire to make a difference, and the joy this play space will bring so many children is exactly the positive impact we love to see.”

Play is the business of childhood and is essential to the physical, cognitive, creative, social and emotional development of every kid. It’s how children build strong muscles and healthy bodies; it’s how they learn problem-solving, conflict resolution and creativity; it’s how they make friends and build strong bonds with adults. Play is critical to a kid’s ability to thrive.

“I am very supportive of this effort by Habitat Broward, JM Family and KaBOOM!” said Rex Hardin, Pompano Beach Mayor. “Playgrounds are not only essential to the development and well-being of children, but it is vital for our children to have access to a safe and well-planned playground.”

Future homeowner Sabrina Williams is thrilled that her children will have a safe place to play. Williams is a single mother of four and has a special needs child, for whom this accessible playground is especially meaningful. He and his sister, eight-year-old Sha’Mya Williams will live only three houses away from the new KaBOOM playground.

“I can’t wait to run to the slide every day after school,” said Sha’ Mya Williams. The Williams family will be one of four families moving into a JM Family sponsored home in Spring of 2020.

This is the third playground build in Broward County sponsored JM Family in collaboration with KaBOOM! Through this partnership, they are creating PLAYces where kids feel valued and loved, and where their potential is supported, nurtured and celebrated.

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About Habitat for Humanity of Broward

Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity of Broward brings people together to build homes, communities and hope. Habitat Broward offers a “hand up” not a “hand out” to low to very low-income families who are unable to qualify for conventional financing but are willing to work hard to improve their family’s lives. Key initiatives include empowering partner families through education, resources and support to successfully achieve their personal, academic and professional goals; teaching the youth of future homeowner families the skills and attitudes needed to make better life choices and break the intergenerational cycle of poverty; increasing awareness and educating the community regarding issues related to the affordable housing crisis and what they can do to help; pursuing green building certification for Habitat Broward homes in order to make our design more sustainable and eco-friendly; as well as revitalizing and strengthening the community by building affordable homes throughout Broward County. For more information about Habitat for Humanity of Broward please call (954) 396-3030 or visit our website at www.habitatbroward.org or check us out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HabitatBroward.

About JM Family Enterprises, Inc.

JM Family Enterprises, Inc., founded by Jim Moran in 1968, is a $16.3 billion diversified automotive company ranked No. 21 on Forbes’ list of America’s Largest Private Companies. JM Family is also ranked No. 17 by FORTUNE® as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For®, its 21st consecutive year on the list. Primary subsidiaries include: Southeast Toyota Distributors, JM&A Group, Southeast Toyota Finance, JM Lexus and Home Franchise Concepts. Headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Fla., JM Family has major U.S. operations in Jacksonville and Margate, Fla.; Commerce and Alpharetta, Ga.; Mobile, Ala.; St. Louis, Mo.; and Irvine, Calif. Interact with JM Family on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. #JMFECommunityDriven

About KaBOOM!

KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to giving all kids – especially those living in poverty – the childhood they deserve through great, safe places to play. KaBOOM! inspires communities to make play the easy choice and works to drive the national discussion about the importance of PLAYces. KaBOOM! has collaborated with partners to build or improve more than 17,000 playspaces, engage over 1.5 million volunteers and serve nearly 10 million kids. To learn why play matters for all kids, visit kaboom.org and join the conversation at twitter.com/kaboom, facebook.com/kaboom and instagram.com/kaboom. #playmatters #PLAYceforKids