Volunteers to build new playground in North Shore
Nicole C. Brambila
The Desert Sun
First Lady Maria Shriver and CaliforniaVolunteers will build a new community play space in North Shore to celebrate César Chávez Day.
"I am thrilled that together with CaliforniaVolunteers WE are building a safe and inspiring place for children to play while at the same time teaching them the immeasurable lesson of service," Shriver said in a press release.
"I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the life and legacy of Cesar E. Chavez than to pass on his message of service and selflessness to the children of our communities."
CaliforniaVolunteers is the state office that manages volunteer programs such as AmeriCorps, California Citizen Corps and the Cesar Chavez Day of Service and Learning.
North Shore is a small, unincorporated community about 22 miles southeast of Indio.
The first of 10 play places was built on March 19 with about 3,000 volunteers.
The California legislature created César Chávez Day in 2000 to honor the labor leader’s life. Chávez’s birthday is March 31.
Planning for the playgrounds began in February.
In 2007, about 400 volunteers helped build a new playground in Mecca for Chávez’s birthday. Chávez, an activist for farmworkers, began his crusade for better pay and working conditions more than 40 years ago in the Coachella Valley grape fields.
Since 1996, KaBOOM!, a Washington, D.C. nonprofit, has built more than 1,100 new playgrounds, skate parks, sports fields and ice rinks across North America. Mecca’s playscape was designed by 20 Mecca students.
A small, unincorporated community of 5,400 about 35 miles east of Palm Springs, Mecca is home to some of the valley’s poorest residents.
The North Shore playground will be built on Saturday March 29. For more information, call Britni Edwards at 347-3157 ext. 227.