UnitedHealthcare Funds City of Arlington’s New River Legacy Parks ‘Play Trail’

Arlington, Texas, Oct. 5, 2013 /3BL Media/ – The City of Arlington and UnitedHealthcare celebrated the completion of the new River Legacy Parks ‘Play Trail’ today with a ribbon-cutting event at the park that included elected officials, community leaders, corporate VIPs, local families and volunteers. UnitedHealthcare’s funding for the Play Trail included two new play pods installed along the existing accessible trail loop that connects back to the main playground area. The funding was made possible through CBS EcoMedia’s WellnessAd program.

Before the ribbon cutting, UnitedHealthcare volunteers put the finishing touches on the new play pods by installing the safety surfacing surrounding them. The play pods promote fitness by encouraging families to walk together along the half-mile trail and stop to enjoy the playground activity at the separate pods.

Dr. Robert Cluck, Mayor of the City of Arlington hosted the ribbon-cutting celebration; Tom Quirk, CEO, UnitedHealthcare of Texas; and Dan Rodrigues, SVP, Sales & Business Development, CBS EcoMedia Inc.  Rowdy, the Dallas Cowboys Mascot, made a special guest appearance.

The River Legacy Parks ‘Play Trail’ project is the latest in UnitedHealthcare’s “Do Good. Live Well.” employee-volunteer initiative, whose mission is to prevent hunger and obesity and inspire service and encourage volunteerism. Through partnerships, financial support and the helping hands of employee volunteers, UnitedHealthcare is working to help build healthier communities.

“UnitedHealthcare is grateful for the opportunity to help make River Legacy Park an even better place to play and enjoy the outdoors for the people of Arlington,” said Quirk. “We believe this park will help play a significant role in building a healthier community and helping people live healthier lives.”

PlayTrails are a revolutionary and innovative collection of play equipment designed for installation as pockets of play along a path or trail. As children and families explore a trail, they encounter nature-themed play pockets that promote physical activity and fun, as well as educational signage with fun facts and activities related to the play pocket theme.

 “The City of Arlington is proud to partner with United Healthcare and CBS EcoMedia to develop new play trails in River Legacy Park, further enhancing one of the region’s top attractions,” said Mayor Robert Cluck. “Our mission is to strengthen our community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. I believe these new play pods bring each one of those three focus areas to life.”

The new play pod equipment is nature-oriented in keeping with the theme of the main Nature Playground and River Legacy Park’s unique nature and environmental design concept.  The play pods include a dragonfly see-saw, frog-shaped and fish-shaped climbers, a turtle-shaped spinner, butterfly-shaped and Caterpillar-shaped climbers and a chrysalis-shaped spinner.

“We’re delighted to celebrate the completion of the new River Legacy Parks ‘Play Trail’ today,” said Paul Polizzotto, President and Founder of CBS EcoMedia. “The importance of a commitment to health and fitness cannot be underestimated  – and it’s critical to have access to recreational facilities that support our personal wellness goals. Our hope is that the new ‘Play Trail’ will help to make Arlington a healthier community. And, through our WellnessAd Program, we look forward to bringing similar projects to fruition in other communities nationwide.”

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with 780,000 physicians and care professionals and 5,900 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare serves more than 40 million people in health benefits and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.

About City of Arlington, Texas

As the seventh largest city in Texas and the 50^th largest city in the United States, Arlington is home to a diverse population of more than 380,000 people. Arlington is a community rich in culture, tradition and history, and has helped transform the city into one of the region’s top entertainment and travel venues. The city’s government is dedicated to delivering customer service excellence, creating a transparent and accountable government and contributing to a strong regional transportation infrastructure.

About CBS EcoMedia Inc.

At EcoMedia, we’re propelled by the desire to create positive social change; that’s been our mission since we founded the company in 2002.  In 2010, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide range of environmental projects, EcoMedia became the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media. 

Through our patent-pending EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd programs, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local projects which in turn creates jobs, saves taxpayer money and improves the quality of life in communities nationwide.  In the process, we’re fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial – and media, in general – into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change.  Please visit ecomediacbs.com, like us at facebook.com/EcoMediaCBS or follow us at Twitter.com/EcoMediaCBS.

By participating in EcoMedia’s EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd advertising programs, EcoMedia’s advertisers agree to provide funding for projects we believe will have a beneficial effect upon the environment, health and/or education within local communities.  EcoMedia’s advertising programs are not certification programs nor are the EcoAd, WellnessAd or EducationAd logos seals of approval. EcoMedia does not in any way certify, endorse or make any representations about EcoMedia program advertisers, their products or services.