Todd Wawrychuk/ Image Group L.A.

Community members work together to build a playground at the Boys & Girls Club on 5th Street in Oxnard

OXNARD, Calif.- Volunteers mixed more than nine and a half tons of concrete by hand and assembled more than 4,675 pounds of equipment to build a playground in one day at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme's Martin V. Smith Branch on 5th Street in Oxnard on Saturday. Volunteers from the Amgen Foundation and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme, organizers from KaBOOM! and residents of the Oxnard community joined forces to build a new, safe playground based on drawings provided by children who attended a Design Day event in April.

"Every child deserves a safe place to play," said Nancy Mayerson, board president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme. "We are grateful to KaBOOM! and the Amgen Foundation for recognizing the importance of this new playground for thousands of Oxnard children."

The new playground will provide more than 3,000 children in the community with a safe place to play each year. The play space is the first of two that will be built by KaBOOM! and the Amgen Foundation this year, and one of more than 225 KaBOOM! will lead across the country in 2008 in an effort to provide a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America.

"What a fantastic day! We as a community could not have accomplished this for our kids without the support of Amgen Foundation, KaBOOM!, the City of Oxnard, Seabees and Oxnard Ambassadors," said Tim Blaylock, chief professional officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme. "We also thank Isidro Navarette, Jersey Mike's, Dullam Nursery, Starbucks, Luke McCarthy and Brian Bladen for their deep generosity."

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme exists to inspire and enable all young people to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens. With three full-service clubs, 20 school program sites and one housing site, the organization is one of the largest of its kind in California, serving 7,000 members annually. The group is also the first Boys & Girls Club of its kind to open a site at the Ventura County Juvenile Justice Center. Program areas offered to youth include character and leadership development, education and career development, health and life skills, the arts, technology and sports/fitness/recreation. For more information, visit www.positiveplace4kids.org.