St. Helens One of Three Oregon Communities in the Running for All-Abilities Playground

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2020

St. Helens is one of three Oregon communities in the running to receive funding for an all-abilities playground through a partnership with Portland Trail Blazers and Moda Health (see press release from Portland Trail Blazers below). 

If St. Helens wins the community vote, the Moda Assist Program will donate $20 for every basketball assist made by the Trail Blazers this season to St. Helens to install an all-abilities playground at McCormick Park.

Vote for St. Helens at www.nba.com/blazers/assist. 

Voting closes Wednesday, April 1. 

Each person can vote once per day by email address. Verification of a valid email address needs to occur in order for a vote to count. Duplicate votes from the same person in the same day will not be counted. Duplicate votes from the same person, even using a different email address, in the same day will not be counted.

From Portland Trail Blazers Communications Department:

MEDIA CONTACTS:                   

Hilary Gorlin, Trail Blazers/Rose Quarter, 503.797.9743

Holli Hanson, Trail Blazers/Rose Quarter, 503.797.9668 

Jonathan Nicholas, Moda, 503.219.3673

THREE OREGON COMMUNITIES RISE AS FINALISTS FOR COMMUNITY ASSIST FROM TRAIL BLAZERS PARTNERSHIP WITH MODA HEALTH

$20 Donations for Every On-Court Assist Will Fund All-Abilities Playground to Winner

PORTLAND, Ore. (March 5, 2020) – It’s the ultimate execution of teamwork on the basketball court – an unselfish assist that leads directly to a teammate’s ability to score. For the seventh consecutive year, the Portland Trail Blazers’ teamwork will fund a positive outcome for a deserving Oregon community thanks to a partnership investment with Moda Health. The Moda Assist Program commits $20 per assist – double last season’s amount from the two partners – to install an all-abilities playground at the end of the season.

Trail Blazers All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard continues his role as the program’s ambassador, showcasing the team’s and Moda’s commitment to active, healthy lifestyles and the value of play for fans of all ages.  Over the Trail Blazers first 63 games this season (**through March 4), Lillard and his teammates have accumulated 1,265 assists.  Lillard currently leads the Trail Blazers with an average of 7.9 assists per game.

Interactive fan engagement will again drive the selection of the recipient community, with voting beginning on March 5 and concluding on April 1 exclusively online at trailblazers.com/assist. Participating communities, each with its own defined needs, are of comparable population size and economic base.  Those communities are:

City: Astoria, Oregon

Park Name: Violet LaPlante Park

Named for Violet LaPlante, an Alderbrook neighborhood resident who helped to establish and clean up the park area in the 1970’s, LaPlante Park serves as a cherished natural and playground area for many Astorians. Due to its proximity to the Astoria Riverwalk Trail and the beautiful and historic trees within the site, the park is highly used and the surrounding neighborhood’s many children frequently enjoy playing on the swing-set and climbing structure that have been there for over twenty years. The city envisions installing a natural-themed climbing and play system to complement the park’s pastoral character while offering multi-modal access that provides inclusive and accessible ways for children to better enjoy the site.

City: Sandy, Oregon

Park Name: Tupper Park

Tupper Park is a 1.26 acre park centrally located, close to downtown and several local neighborhoods. It is one of the few parks featuring a popular, full-sized basketball court. The city hopes providing all access equipment at Tupper Park would be just the beginning in inviting all children to play, encouraging them to see past their differences and focus more on developing friendships.

City: St. Helens, Oregon

Park Name: McCormick Park

McCormick Park is the largest and most popular park in the City of St. Helens, attracting locals and park users from the entire Columbia County region. The Park is approximately 80 acres and hosts a number of recreational opportunities. Despite the recreation facilities that attract thousands of visitors annually, McCormick Park’s only playground equipment was installed over 20 years ago. Due to its heavy usage and age, certain elements of the original set have been removed due to safety concerns. The partnership with the Moda Assist Program would allow the city to leverage limited funding to install brand new playground equipment for children ages 2-12.

Past recipients of the all-abilities playground equipment through the Moda Assist Program include Geiser-Pollman Park (Baker City, OR), Birnie Park (La Grande, OR), Culley Park (Portland), Fichtner Mainwaring Park (Medford, OR); Sunset Park (Hermiston, OR) and Baker Park (Redmond, OR).  So far, the program has generated over $100,000 in funds from the Trail Blazers and Moda to support the initiative over its multi-year history.

ABOUT THE PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

Members of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Portland Trail Blazers were founded in 1970 and purchased by the late Paul G. Allen in 1988. The team's rich heritage includes 35 playoff appearances, three trips to the NBA Finals, an NBA championship in 1977 and a commitment to community service and sustainability. The Trail Blazers are dedicated to positively impacting underserved kids and their families throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington where they live, learn and play. Portland is the first and only professional sports franchise to receive the prestigious National Points of Light Award for excellence in corporate and community service. The Trail Blazers home arena, Moda Center, is the first existing arena to earn LEED Platinum Certification in 2019 after receiving LEED Gold Recertification in 2015 and becoming the first existing professional sports venue in the world to receive LEED Gold status in 2010. The team is also one of the founding members of the Green Sports Alliance. For more information, visit trailblazers.com.

ABOUT MODA

Founded in Portland in 1955, Moda is a health company committed to building healthier communities by helping people get well sooner and live well longer. The Moda family of companies includes Moda Health, Delta Dental Plan of Oregon/Alaska, ODS Community Dental, Eastern Oregon Community Care Organization, Ardon Health, BenefitHelp Solutions, Astra Practice Partners, Dental Commerce Corporation, Healthy Grid, Arrow Dental, and PropacPayless Pharmacy.

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