Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) today will construct a new playground as part of its Morgan Stanley Healthy Cities Chicago initiative. In partnership with KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit dedicated to bringing balanced and active play into the daily lives of all children, Morgan Stanley employee volunteers will help build the safe play space that will benefit more than 300 kids from Chicago Collegiate Charter School and the surrounding community.
Over the past year, Morgan Stanley Healthy Cities Chicago has partnered with Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, KaBOOM!, and local nonprofit organizations to provide crucial wellness, nutrition and play services that give kids a healthy start in life. Through July 2015, Healthy Cities programming in Chicago has delivered more than 396,000 pounds of nutritious food to over 700 students and their families, wellness and nutrition education materials to more than 3,000 individuals, and created safe play spaces for nearly 1,000 children. Local nonprofits that served as key partners in the initiative include the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Ronald McDonald Children’s Hospital and Chicago Run.
“Morgan Stanley employee volunteers are integral to the success of our Healthy Cities model, and we are pleased to continue our support of the Chicago community through today’s playground build,” said Joan Steinberg, Global Head of Philanthropy at Morgan Stanley. “Enabling children to have access to a safe play area where they can grow and develop is a crucial building block to a healthy life, and through Healthy Cities we are bringing play, nutrition and wellness programming to communities in need.”
“We are so happy to be part of the Morgan Stanley Healthy Cities initiative and receive a new, safe play space for our students and the greater Chicago community,” said Beth Carrera Napleton, Founder and Executive Director of Chicago Collegiate. “As our students continue to learn and grow academically, it’s equally important that they have access to essentials like play and nutrition education that will improve their overall health.”
“Morgan Stanley Healthy Cities helps us provide more children with nutritious food where they learn, live and play,” said Kate Maehr, Executive Director and CEO of the Greater Chicago Food Depository. “At the same time, this partnership connects families we serve to additional wellness resources, including nutrition education and health screenings. Morgan Stanley’s support, employee volunteers and community partnerships are giving more Chicago children an opportunity to grow up healthy, smart and strong.”
Morgan Stanley Healthy Cities was launched in 2014 in Chicago, IL; Newark, NJ; and Oakland, CA. In 2015, the program expanded to London, UK, and Cleveland, OH, with additional cities set to be announced later in the year. For more information about Healthy Cities, please visit www.morganstanley.com/healthycities/ and follow #HealthyCities.
Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 43 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.