Archived News

9/24/2002 - Armstrong & Janson Foundations "KaBOOM!" Park in Columbia, PA

Go to photos or a time-lapse movie of this Build!

LANCASTER, PA, September 24, 2002--A worldwide community of volunteers from Armstrong World Industries, Inc., the Janson Foundation and the Borough of Columbia are converging on an empty corner of Janson Park in Columbia today with an eye toward transforming it into an exciting playground space designed by KaBOOM! the national, non-profit organization that creates healthy play opportunities for children by focusing on community-build playground projects.

"Armstrong is very excited about bringing this great, new playground to the children of Columbia," said Michael D. Lockhart, Armstrong's President and CEO. In just about four hours, more than 160 members of Lockhart's senior management team from Armstrong locations worldwide will assemble the playground and landscape the surrounding park area. The afternoon playground build is an important team building and problem solving exercise designed to challenge the managers. Lockhart invited them to Lancaster for a two-day management seminar. The build begins at 1 pm.

"Columbia has needed a playground like this for a long time," said Ron Sahd, President of the Janson Foundation, which owns Janson Park, located at 6th and Cherry Streets. "Armstrong's idea to partner with our community helped jumpstart this beautiful playground and the children are going to be thrilled when they see it." Janson Foundation members accepted the offer of a new playground form the Armstrong Foundation, the company's charitable arm. For a second year, Armstrong worked through the United Way of Lancaster County to identify a community partner. Armstrong's first playground is at the Lancaster Salvation Army and was designed for children in the Army's Latch Key Program. It is also used by children from the nearby Lancaster Day Care Center.

"This is a fairly complicated construction project; it's really incredible to see all these people pull together and create a playground in just four hours," said Melanie Barnes, KaBOOM! Project Manager leading the Armstrong volunteers. For the second consecutive year, the Armstrong Foundation partnered with KaBOOM! The playground equipment, which includes a state-of-the-art jungle gym, is manufactured by Playworld Systems® Inc., in Lewisburg, PA. The new playground contains 19 active play components measuring 35'x23'x14' over a 1739 square foot play area and accommodates 61 children between the ages of 5 and 12. Since 1995, KaBOOM! (www.kaboom.org), based in Washington, DC, has built nearly 400 safe and accessible playgrounds which it says are essential to the development of America's children.

Funk's Farm Market of Millersville generously discounted the cost of plants to help with Janson Park's extensive landscaping needs. In business since 1963, Funk's is well known locally for its involvement in community beautification projects like The Lancaster Campaign.

More than 80 volunteers from the Janson Foundation and the Borough of Columbia contributed to the day's success with a variety of projects that included site preparation, transportation, and feeding more than 200 people. Area children and their parents participated in a dedication ceremony at the completion of the playground build.

The non-profit Janson Foundation, established in 1932 by Joseph Janson, a Columbia resident and steel mill operator, was created to operate and maintain Janson Park for the people of Columbia Borough.

Formed in 1985, the Armstrong Foundation is largely allocated to causes employees are passionate about and has donated more than $21 million to charity.

Armstrong World Industries, Inc., a subsidiary of Armstrong Holdings, Inc., is a global leader in the design and manufacture of floors, ceilings and cabinets. In 2001, Armstrong's net sales totaled more than $3 billion. Founded in 1860, Armstrong has more than 16,000 employees worldwide. More information about Armstrong is available on the Internet at www.armstrong.com.