Get Ready to Play!

Children need to be physically active to help them stay healthy. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico (BCBSNM) also knows that children need a safe place to play to help them stay active. That is why we have partnered with KaBOOM for four years to build playgrounds around New Mexico to encourage children to have fun and PLAY!

This year, we partnered with New Life Homes to help build a playground at the Sundowner Apartments in Albuquerque. New Life Homes serves the most vulnerable individuals in Albuquerque, including families and individuals who have struggled with homelessness, mental and chronic health issues, and other physical disabilities.

More than 60 BCBSNM employees and their families worked alongside community volunteers and the residents of Sundowner to build a brand new playground in just six short hours this fall. The playground included swings, climbing walls, slides, picnic tables with shade structures and teeter totters.

Check out our video to see volunteers and the smiles on the faces of children at Sundowner Apartments. It will put a smile on your face too!

Show Transcript
CHILDREN: Playground!
 
KURT: Thanks for being out here so important for the community that our kids have a great place to play. I want to especially thank the Blue Cross and Blue Shield employees that are here. You guys rock and I really appreciate everything that you do. CROWD: Go Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico
 
WILLIAM: Together we are putting together a great amenity not just to the Sundowner Apartments, but also the broader community as well.
 
JOHN: Newlife homes is a New Mexico nonprofit and manages supportive housing focusing on the most vulnerable in the community.
 
WILLIAM: We do risk management to deal with our vulnerable tenants also those with special needs. We also provide support services to ensure we engage all our residents with self-sufficiency goals CHILD: Oh a tire swing!
 
JANUS: The children here made drawings of their dream playgrounds and then voted on alternate designs so what we are building today is actually the product of the children in the community here and what they wanted to see.
 
CONSUELO: Today we have about sixty Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico employees, family and friends that are working very hard to accomplish this. We actually just put in about an hour ago a tire swing for the kids to enjoy themselves and we are really so excited to see as the pieces are coming in.
 
PATRICK: And for years were have been trying to get a park for the kids, so it is great to work with a partner such as Sundowner and other organizations like Blue Cross and KaBOOM! to make this possible. We always talk about this idea of a beloved community. What Martin Luther King said and I think this is coming to fruition having kids engaged in a constructive manner. JANUS: The playground components are going together we are putting down concrete and hopefully in a couple of hours we will be cutting a ribbon.
 
CHILD: …and also if they had monkey bars.
 
VICKI: To be working with all of the Blue Cross employees, the community members, the residents of Sundowner. It’s just been a moving and wonderful experience.
 
RUDY: It’s worthwhile. It’s a great project for the community and your helping out.
 
BRENNA: Blue Cross and Blue Shield New Mexico has been an incredible supporter of
 
KaBOOM! For four years now, and I am so impressed by their team and their commitment to making sure that all kids get access to great places to play.
 
CROWD: one…two…three…yeah
 
PATRICK: So I am very, very thankful for KaBOOM! and Blue Cross and Sundowner, for making this possible for our children. CROWD: Let’s play!
 
WILLIAM: I’d love to say a huge thank you to Blue Cross Blue Shield as being the main fiscal sponsor for this project here.
 
JANUS: Thank you Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico.
 
CHILDREN: Thank you!
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