Youth playing in Kiwanis Park will have a few more tools, toys and sporting equipment at their disposal thanks to a new Live 5210 Playbox.
The newest playbox, installed earlier this month, is a joint collaboration between the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex and members of the Royal Purple.
“They really liked the idea and they strongly support families in our community so we worked with them to put together this playbox, which has purple colouring on it to represent them,” said Suzanne Cochrane, recreation programmer for the City.
Other boxes in the city — installed by the CMRC, Communities that Care and Success by Six — are located in Boitanio Park, Kinsmen Park at the old Poplar Glade site and at Beauchamp Park near Cataline elementary.
READ MORE: Playbox on the way for Kiwanis Park thanks to generous donation
“It’s a great opportunity for people to get outdoors, go somewhere else as a family, play some games and not have to pack play stuff with them,” Cochrane said.
“The idea is people can find them province-wide in different communities and it’s really promoting getting outdoors.”
The latest playbox will have frisbees, baseball gloves, footballs, rugby balls, tennis racquets, skipping ropes, soccer balls and more tucked inside.
“There’s great green space there so people can utilize that,” she said.
The name of the boxes, ‘Live 5210,’ refers to a BC Children’s Hospital initiative: five servings of fruits and vegetables, no more than two hours of screen time per day, one hour of physical activity and zero sugary drinks.
To access the boxes, all that’s required is for residents to visit the City’s website or stop by the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex to ask for the lock combination code.
The program is run on an honour system and, so far, they haven’t had a problem with people stealing the items, Cochrane said, however, the playbox at Kinsmen Park at Poplar Glade is awaiting repairs due to recent vandalism.
Visit www.williamslake.ca/130/Recreation-Services and follow the link below to gain access to any of the playbox codes located in Williams Lake.
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