On Tuesday, June 8, the St. Louis Rams players, coaches and front office staff will head to South St. Louis City to construct a playground, assist with painting and provide general clean up of Monroe eMINTS Academy.
“We are excited about our playground build and improvement plan at Monroe eMINTS Academy,” said Rams Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo. “It is important for the St. Louis Rams to invest in the St. Louis community and its youth. This playground and campus improvements will be great motivators for these students to continue their academic, as well as fitness growth.”
Monroe serves approximately 250 students (pre-kindergarten to sixth grade) and is currently without a playground. According to the U.S. Dept of Education, over 95 percent of their students qualify for free or reduced lunch, one of the highest percentages in the St. Louis Public School District. A recent fitness assessment also determined that 32 percent of the Monroe students are overweight or obese further illustrating the school’s need for assistance.
The new play space will be complete with slides, climbing structures and a safe rubber flooring built in custom Rams’ colors. The playground will encourage students to be active and healthy in support of the NFL’s Play 60 program, a youth health and fitness campaign focused on encouraging kids to be active for at least 60 minutes a day.
The Rams are partnering with playground provider, NuToys on the project. The team’s first playground build was in East St. Louis in June of 2009.
For further information about the playground build, contact Molly Higgins, 314-516-8897, or Cassidy Cleveland, 314-516-8709.