Last Saturday, Sept. 15, Roslyn resident Zoe Kline had a non-traditional Bat Mitzvah celebration. On that date, she realized her dream of giving back to the community. In this case, that meant helping to construct a playground at the Flushing YMCA in Queens County.

Up to 200 volunteers from the Kline Family and the Flushing YMCA, organizers from KaBOOM! and residents of the Queens community joined forces on "Build Day" to complete the project. The playground's design is based on drawings provided by children who will use the playground/attend the school at a Design Day event in June.

The playground will provide more than 175 children at the Flushing YMCA a place to play. Currently, the children have limited play opportunities.

The project began with a 12-noon kickoff and volunteer deployment. Construction commenced throughout the rest of the afternoon. At around 4:00 p.m., a ribbon cutting ceremony to open the play area. The Flushing YMCA is located at 138-46 Northern Blvd.

According to her parents, Zoe Kline often felt saddened when walking by sub-standard playgrounds upon realizing that children in those areas didn't have more options for great playspaces. That realization prompted Zoe to take on the task of building a playground in an effort to remedy the situation.

KaBOOM! will lead across the country in 2007 in an effort to provide a place to play within walking distance of every child in America.