Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer will work-along with the Orlando Police Department (OPD) and a team of more than 200 volunteers to build a new playground for the children in the Windsor Cove Apartment community formerly known as The Palms. Volunteers from KaBOOM!, The Home Depot, Hopes and Dreams Team, Windsor Cove Tenant Association and Cambridge Management will join with the City to complete the state-of-the-art 2,500 square foot playground in just one-day.

This playground is another step in “Operation Free Palms” to prevent crime and improve living conditions at the complex. The Windsor Cove Apartment community has undergone a dramatic transformation through a partnership with the City and the Orlando Police Department over the past two years. The neighborhood has gone from a source of violent crime, drugs and even a triple-killing in July 2008 to a community committed to a safe neighborhood.

This new playground will provide more than 600 children in the Windsor Cove community - who currently use a 15-year old rundown playground, only accessible to children over five years of age - with a safe and new place to play. For the past two years, the City of Orlando has been named one of the nation’s “Playful City USA” communities by KaBOOM! in honor of its innovative efforts in making play a priority for local children.

This project in the Windsor Cove community is made possible through a $65,000 grant from The Home Depot Foundation and a $7,500 donation from Hopes and Dreams Team. The Home Depot will recycle all left over and unused materials remaining after the completion of the playground build in the Windsor Cove Apartments and donate any reusable supplies to other community organizations.