2400 N. Croatan Hwy, Suite D PO Box 2539 Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948 Phone 252-441-0614 Fax 252-441-3580

Helping Dare County’s Children One Playspace at a Time

Children & Youth Partnership for Dare County (C&YP) has recently received a $2,500 grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) Foundation to help improve the outdoor play area at The Munchkin Academy child care center in Buxton.

Many North Carolina child care centers have poor quality outdoor environments, with areas of mulch or concrete and negligible greenery in the way of trees, flowering shrubs or other plantings. The Munchkin Academy’s outdoor environment is no different and is void of these elements as well. These outdoor environments in child care are not compelling spaces that teachers value or children would be eager to enjoy for physical activity and outdoor play.

In the spring of 2009, a project was launched to address this issue, as well as the trend of childhood obesity in the state. C&YP joined nine other Smart Start agencies from across the state to participate in the Preventing Obesity by Design (POD) project. POD is a result of a partnership between the Natural Learning Initiative (NLI) of North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc., with support from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation.

The POD project is designed to improve the outdoor play and learning environments at thirty child care centers over a three-year period through training, design assistance, and technical support from the NLI team. The first round of outdoor environments were assessed in summer 2009 and a design plan was created to improve quality and add natural elements to the space. Teacher education to support children’s physical activity and healthy eating is also an ongoing part of the project. By the end of the project, other teachers in Dare County will be able to visit The Munchkin Academy to get ideas for their own programs.

“We applaud the efforts of Children & Youth Partnership for Dare County and value this opportunity to continue to align our foundation with organizations, programs and people committed to improving the health and well-being of North Carolinians,” said Kathy Higgins, president of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation.

Statewide, the BCBSNC Foundation invested more than $726,000 in grants to 32 organizations as part of this most recent grant cycle. The BCBSNC Foundation focuses on three key areas: improving the health outcomes of vulnerable populations served by safety-net organizations, promoting healthy and physically active communities, and increasing the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations in the state. More information can be found at www.bcbsncfoundation.org

While C&YP is thrilled and grateful for the generous grant from BCBSNC, The Munchkin Academy has the largest outdoor play space of the 10 centers being renovated this year, and the project is in need of additional monetary donations, material donations (plants, trees, mulch, lumber, art, etc.), and volunteers from local businesses and the community to be completed. If you, or anyone you know, would like to help transform and better the lives of Dare County’s children by contributing to this fundamental project in any way, or would like more information about this project, please contact Courtney Zwart at Children & Youth Partnership for Dare County at 252-441-4737.

Outdoor Play Article for Parents - Click here to read the article

The Munchkin Academy Playground - Current

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The POD Team

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The Training

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The Design

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The Implementation

Children & Youth Partnership and The Munchkin Academy are looking for volunteers to help implement the new playground. If you are interested in volunteering time or supplies to make this project successful please contact Courtney Zwart at 252-441-4737 or ecs@darekidgs.org. Check back later for photos of the transformation!