Issue link: http://alabamapower.uberflip.com/i/274792
POWER TO THE KIDS AT GERMANIA PARK Alabama Power knows that playgrounds enhance community life. Parks attract children who frolic while gaining life skills — coordination, exercise and interaction with others. Parents and grandparents often gather too, making playgrounds a social center. C H A R I T A B L E G I V I N G Committed to Bettering Our Communities 9 That's why great concern arose over conditions at Germania, Roosevelt City and Smithfield Estates city parks in Birmingham. Kids were playing all right, but equipment was rickety, the swings squeaked, the slides had lost their speed and rust was the color scheme. Alabama Power stepped up to improve the quality of the spaces for youngsters and their elders alike. In a beneficial joint initiative, Alabama Power teamed with the city of Birmingham, the Birmingham Park and Recreation Board, the Citizens Advisory Board and the neighborhoods for the makeovers. Volunteers from the local Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO) chapter rallied, as they do so reliably all over the state with more than 50,000 volunteer hours in 2012 alone, to install the new equipment, paint, plant and improve each park's appearance. The team also replaced the wood-chip ground cover with a poured surface for safety and accessibility. The new layer, made from rubber granules in a resin-like suspension, absorbs the impact of an accidental fall and is a consistent base for wheelchairs. The playgrounds became accessible to all the neighborhood children and their families. This kind of revitalization and community support is an area of focus for Alabama Power. For example, the Alabama Power Foundation gave $15,000 to Project Horseshoe Farm in the Black Belt for three programs: tutoring and enrichment for elementary school children, support for adults with mental illness and leadership development for rural healthcare leaders. In Birmingham, the company also has supported the Woodlawn Foundation, which sponsors music programs for high school students in the neighborhood.