The Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) Foundation, Park Ridge, Ill., and the MDRT Canadian Foundation, in partnership with Kids Around the World (KIDS), is recruiting industry volunteers to build a playground May 19-23, 2008, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. All volunteers are welcome, and no prior building experience is necessary.
During the playground build, industry volunteers will work shoulder-to-shoulder to build a playground for the children of Regent Park, a low-income neighborhood in downtown Toronto. Regent Park is a culturally diverse neighborhood. The majority of families are classified as low-income and poverty is a reality for seven out of ten Regent Park families. More than 50% of the population living in Regent Park are children 18 years and younger. The playground will be built on the grounds of Lord Dufferin Public School, an inner-city school in downtown Toronto.
"The MDRT Foundation was established to provide MDRT members with a means to give back to their communities, and this is MDRT's way of giving back to the wonderful city of Toronto that will be hosting us for the 2008 MDRT Annual Meeting," said 2008 MDRT President Patricia L. Krarup, MSFS, ChFC, of Janesville, Wis. "Thanks to industry volunteers, this playground will bring joy and happiness to children in Regent Park for many years to come." MDRT is holding its 2008 Annual Meeting in Toronto at the Metro Toronto Convention Center June 22-26.
This will be the MDRT Foundation's sixth playground project with KIDS, and will help KIDS continue their mission of building playgrounds for children in underserved communities worldwide. "Children running onto the playground after the dedication is your lifetime payment," said John Marshall Lee, CLU, RHU, a 39-year MDRT member and playground volunteer from Fairfield, Conn. "The gift of your time and talent is priceless."
