The Rapides Foundation > Newsroom > E-Newsletters

Projects focus on physical activity

Urania Town Clerk Pam Sullivan sees the need for new playground equipment at “Potty Tannehill Memorial Park” every time parents walk the track with their children. Inevitably, the kids get bored, they start complaining, and the parents have to cut short their exercise.

But thanks to a grant from The Rapides Foundation’s Diet and Physical Activity Community Program, that’s going to change – and soon. The town was awarded a grant to put playground equipment at the popular park, allowing parents and their kids a fun way to engage in physical activity.

“When I see the kids, there’s nothing for them to do. I cannot wait until that playground equipment gets here,” said Sullivan, who estimates the equipment will be in place before summer’s end. “It will make such a difference.”

The Town of Urania received one of 12 grants awarded under the Foundation’s community program. The Foundation called for proposals in April and the response was so overwhelming that the board of trustees decided to award 12 grants instead of the intended four. The call was for projects that would encourage and improve physical activity and healthy eating among residents in Central Louisiana. An unprecedented 32 proposals were submitted.

Nine of the grants are for projects that address physical activity while the others are designed to make it easier for people to eat healthier foods.

In Hessmer, town officials also saw the need for new playground equipment to supplement the town’s walking trail. Town Clerk Susan Jeansonne pointed out that many working parents and grandparents found it difficult to use the town’s walking trail because there was nothing to occupy their children during their walks. The new playground area will be located inside the track so that parents can keep an eye on their children while they exercise. Said one local parent: “This is a great idea. The children will love this. I know it would also increase the use of our track.”

In Bunkie, the grant money will be used to construct exercise and playground equipment near Augustine Park Apartments, located on the east side of town. It will give neighborhood children and residents a place to play within walking distance from their homes, Mayor Mike Robertson said. “The children who live there have to walk a mile plus to get to the nearest park.”

The playground will provide a convenient, easily identified gathering place where residents of all ages from the housing complex and the surrounding area can enjoy family friendly recreation opportunities, health and fitness programs in addition to a broad mix of social educational and recreational programming geared to all age groups, income levels and ability levels,” according to the Albert L. Hayward Community Development Corporation, which is overseeing the project.

Other physical activity grants awarded this year:

The City of Natchitoches will construct a walking trail with fitness stations at City Park. Participants would now have the opportunity to use City Park as not only a play area but as a fitness destination, city officials said. The project will further promote and support the “Get Fit Natchitoches” campaign.
Cloutierville Elementary/Middle School will construct a walking trail and enhance its existing ball fields for the entire community to use.
LaSalle Recreation District 10 plans to construct a “fun zone” at a recreation park outside of Jena, allowing family residents a place to engage in friendly physical activity. “We realize that physical activity is often viewed as too stringent and overwhelming; hence the term ‘workout.’ So we want to diffuse this perception by installing an entry-level, subliminal fun zone of physical facilities,” said Betty Addison, board president. This area will include a splash pad, volleyball court, outdoor fitness center and horseshoe pits.
Louisiana State University at Alexandria will use its funds to increase the length of its existing walking trail and to offer monthly community education classes that address exercise, gardening and healthy cooking.
The Town of Jena will construct a quarter-mile nature trail on newly acquired land adjacent to Jena Town Park, providing fitness opportunities for local residents.
Town of Olla will construct a community playground near the town’s walking trail. “We feel that the inclusion of playground equipment in the walking trail area will encourage physical activity for the entire family,” town officials said.