National Press Release

-- More than 200 volunteers from The Chrysler Foundation, Orleans Dodge, Riverland Chrysler and Operation REACH join organizers from KaBOOM! and residents of the local community on building project
-- Volunteers haul more than 53,460 square feet of mulch and mix more than 20,000 pounds of concrete by hand
-- Playground is the 24th to be built nationwide by Chrysler, Jeep(R) and Dodge dealers, Chrysler, KaBOOM! and community partners

NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Before the sun set today, the more than 500 children who come to The Knowledge Garden Child Development Center in New Orleans got a great new place to play.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090122/CLTH009-a )

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090122/CLTH009-b )

The new playground, which was fully assembled from scratch in less than eight hours, was built with the help of more than 200 volunteers from The Chrysler Foundation, Orleans Dodge in New Orleans, Riverland Chrysler in LaPlace, La., Operation REACH, organizers from KaBOOM! and residents of the local community. Throughout the day, volunteers hauled more than 53,460 square feet of mulch -- enough to cover 11 regulation-sized basketball courts -- by hand in tarps; mixed approximately 20,000 pounds of concrete -- equal to the weight of five Dodge Challengers -- by hand in wheelbarrows; and assembled brightly colored playground equipment to bring the new play area to life.

Planning for the playground began at a Design Day event held in November. Local children and community leaders met with organizers from KaBOOM! and Chrysler to design their "dream" playground. The children's drawings were used to create the final playground design.

"The playground will provide a safe, clean place for the children of the neighborhood to play," said Operation REACH CEO Dr. Kyshun Webster. "We're excited to bring a new play area to the neighborhood and to be a part of the KaBOOM! dream of building a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America."

The project is the 24th playground to be built across the country by KaBOOM!, The Chrysler Foundation, and Chrysler, Jeep(R) and Dodge dealers. The playground is also one of more than 220 builds KaBOOM! will lead across the country this year in an effort to provide an enjoyable place to play within walking distance of every child in America.

Operation REACH

Operation REACH is a national educational and youth-serving non-profit organization founded a decade ago in New Orleans. Operation REACH is dedicated to engaging, empowering, and inspiring children, youth and families through informal, community-based learning opportunities. The Knowledge Garden Child Development Center was created by Operation REACH to address the critical need for high-quality affordable child care in New Orleans. The Knowledge Garden provides a high-quality, safe and nurturing environment where parents and children ages six weeks to three years can find a solid foundation for learning. The Knowledge Garden provides a developmentally appropriate curriculum designed to enhance a child's social and emotional skills and promote Operation REACH's philosophy to engage, empower and inspire children, youth and families.

The Chrysler Foundation

The Chrysler Foundation is the primary source of charitable grants made by Chrysler LLC. The Foundation annually supports hundreds of charitable organizations with an emphasis on community growth and enrichment, arts and culture, education, and youth development programs throughout the United States and, increasingly, the world. The Foundation's Good Neighbor, Good Citizen(R) programs make a positive, lasting investment in local communities where our employees, customers and neighbors live. Visit www.thechryslerfoundation.com.

Chrysler Financial

Chrysler Financial offers automotive financial products and services to both dealers and consumers of Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Venezuela. In addition, it offers vehicle wholesale and retail financing to more than 3,600 Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealers. Nearly three million drivers in the United States enjoy the benefits of financing with Chrysler Financial. Chrysler Financial has an employee base of 4,000 and supports a global portfolio of $70 billion. For more information, visit corp.chryslerfinancial.com.

KaBOOM!

KaBOOM! is a national non-profit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since 1995, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct more than 1,500 new playgrounds, skate parks, sports fields and ice rinks across North America. KaBOOM! also offers a variety of resources, including an online community, regional and national trainings, grants, publications and the KaBOOM! National Campaign for Play, which includes Playful City USA and the Playmaker Network - a national network of individual advocates for play. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.

SOURCE Chrysler LLC