Volunteers to assemble playground from the ground up
to kick off AmeriCorps*NCCC 10 year anniversary

Denver — Members of AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) and Volunteers from The Home Depot and the Highland community will construct a new playground in just one day for the children at Bryant Webster K-8 School. The playground, made possible by a partnership between The Home Depot, AmeriCorps*NCCC, Denver Public Schools, community volunteers and organizers from KaBOOM!, will give the school a new place to play for the 380 children who attend and others who live in the neighborhood.

"When community members and the school district come together as one, there's no better way to tell students we believe in their potential," said DPS Special Projects Manager Troy Garner. "We are thankful that The Home Depot, KaBOOM!, AmeriCorps*NCCC and the community of Bryant Webster are donating their time and energy to provide for the future leaders of our city."

The playground design was created with input from children in the community who attended a "Design Day" event at the school in March. The children who attend Bryant Webster K-8 School will watch as the new play area based on their drawings-complete with fanciful slides, colorful swings or whatever their imaginations created- is constructed all in one day.

"Having built more than 150 playgrounds nationwide with our Home Depot associates, we know what a positive impact community play areas have on our children," said Robert Hammack, Home Depot Regional Vice President. "We are excited to celebrate the tenth anniversary of AmeriCorps*NCCC with this build, and show the power of community service in action."

This playground is possible through an ongoing partnership between The Home Depot, the nation's largest home improvement retailer, and KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to building safe play spaces in communities across the country. As a national sponsor of KaBOOM!, The Home Depot provides financial support, materials and numerous volunteers. By the end of 2004, The Home Depot will have built and funded 250 KaBOOM! playground projects.

"I can't think of a better way to mark AmeriCorps*NCCC's decade of results than by building this new playground," said David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers AmeriCorps. "We're grateful to KaBOOM! and The Home Deport for their support. This playground is symbolic of the exceptional contribution that AmeriCorps*NCCC members have made to improving our communities and country over the past ten years."

The playground build will kick off a special Legacy Weekend, commemorating AmeriCorps*NCCC's 10th Anniversary. This year, AmeriCorps*NCCC is recognizing a decade of achievement and the ongoing service commitment of its 10,000 alumni with Legacy Weekend service projects in its five campus communities: Denver, CO; Sacramento, CA; Perry Point, MD; Charleston, SC; and Washington, DC. Each Legacy Weekend will include a playground build in the campus community in collaboration with The Home Depot and KaBOOM!.

"This playground Build Day will be a community celebration with a clear-cut purpose - to give the children who live here a great place to play, to be fit and strong, and to call their own. The people here in Denver have been great and KaBOOM! is excited to be a part of this project with The Home Depot, especially as it marks a milestone in the AmeriCorps*NCCC program" said Darell Hammond, CEO and founder, KaBOOM!.

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The Home Depot

Founded in 1978, The Home Depot(R) is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer and the second largest retailer in the United States, with fiscal 2003 sales of $64.8 billion. The company employs approximately 300,000 associates and has 1,728 stores in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, eight Canadian provinces and Mexico. Its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

AmeriCorps*NCCC

AmeriCorps*NCCC is a team-based residential national service program for women and men between the ages of 18 and 24. Members serve on environmental, education, public safety, disaster relief, and other projects. About 1,000 members serve full time for 10 months, based at five regional campuses. The three AmeriCorps programs-AmeriCorps*NCCC, AmeriCorps*State and National, and AmeriCorps*VISTA-are administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which also oversees Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America. Together with the USA Freedom Corps, the Corporation is working to build a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility in America. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.org.

Denver Public Schools

Evidenced by test scores on the rise and escalating community support, Denver Public Schools is boosting learning, sparking enthusiasm for knowledge and creating more life-long learners among its 72,000 students. The district's ambitious new elementary literacy program strongly spotlights reading and writing, and there are organized efforts to improve reading and writing skills at the secondary level for struggling sixth- through tenth-grade students. A new rigor in math instruction is bringing focus and consistent direction to math classrooms throughout the district. Crediting Denver Public Schools for showing that real improvement is possible in a major urban school district, Governor Bill Owens announced recently that DPS is the only Colorado school district to earn the Governor's Award for Distinguished Improvement for the second year in a row. New Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has pledged powerful and clear support, and the community's recent approval of a $310 million bond and a $20 million mill levy broadens momentum and renews bonds with the many neighborhoods that comprise the vibrant, diverse city of Denver. Around the schools and in the community, the goals of Denver Public Schools are clear - setting high expectations, improving the performance of all students and closing the gap between better and poorer performing students.

Bryant Webster Elementary School

Bryant-Webster K-8 School will add three more grades one year at a time (six through eight) beginning in the fall of 2004, and the Board of Education is considering the school's proposal to offer a dual language program and a new emphasis on the arts. Sixth-grade will start in the 2004-2005 school year and the dual language in 2005 if approved. Under dual language programs, Spanish-speaking students learn English and English-speaking students learn Spanish while maintaining their native languages. The arts would be provided in an extended-day program at the northwest Denver school with visual art, music, choir, and Mexican folk dancing alongside other activities such as sports, Earth Force, and tutoring.

KaBOOM!

Since 1995, KaBOOM! has been motivating communities nationwide to create healthy play opportunities for young people. KaBOOM! has created more than 600 new playgrounds and improved more than 1,300 others. A model of fiscal efficiency, KaBOOM! was named one of Fast Company's first-ever Social Capitalist Award winners in 2003 and one of America's 100 Best Charities by Worth magazine in 2002. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago, Atlanta and Redwood City, CA. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.