Helping Revitalize Midtown Omaha, Neb., Two Local Chrysler Jeep(R) and Dodge Dealerships, Chrysler LLC and KaBOOM! Representatives Build Playground at Jackson Elementary School

OMAHA, Neb., July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Today more than 250 volunteers from Performance Chrysler Jeep(R) Dodge; Baxter Chrysler Jeep Dodge; The Chrysler Foundation;Omaha Schools Foundation;Omaha Public Schools; organizers from KaBOOM! and residents of the community joined forces to build a new and secure playground at Jackson Elementary School inOmaha, Neb.

Tal Anderson, Dealer Principal - Baxter Chrysler Jeep Dodge and Performance Chrysler Jeep Dodge, led the volunteers in building a state-of-the-art playground to serve the needs of the community. This new, updated playground will serve the hundreds of children who attend Jackson Elementary and provide them with a safe and enjoyable place to play.

"Performance Chrysler Jeep Dodge and Baxter Chrysler Jeep Dodge became involved in this project to provide support to strengthenOmaha's neighborhoods and to provide a clean, fun environment for children," Anderson said. "Contributing to our community is important to our employees and we are proud to participate in this effort to revitalize Midtown Omaha."

Performance Chrysler Jeep and Baxter Chrysler Jeep Dodge representatives are working to raise the quality of life in Midtown by furthering the goals of Destination Midtown and the plan of Mayor Mike Fahey and the Omaha City Council.

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

"The Jackson playground will contribute to students' cognitive and intellectual development while providing them the opportunity to exercise a sense of wonder, exploration and creativity," said John Mackiel, Superintendent -Omaha Public Schools.

The playspace is the sixth of 25 scheduled to be built this year by KaBOOM!, The Chrysler Foundation and Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge dealerships across the country to provide more than 70,000 children with a great place to play. The playspace is also one of more than 225 builds KaBOOM! will lead across the country in 2008, in an effort to provide a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America.

"KaBOOM! is committed to bringing play back to the neighborhood one playground at a time," said Darell Hammond, CEO and Co-founder - KaBOOM!. "Every child deserves a place to run, jump, have fun and just be a kid. We are proud to work with Chrysler to give the children at Jackson Elementary School a great place to play."

Destination Midtown is a unique partnership linking neighborhood associations, businesses, public and private institutions,Omaha city government and theGreater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Destination Midtown is in an unprecedented collaborative community development effort working to raise the quality of life and return Midtown to prominence.

About Performance Automotive Group

Baxter Chrysler Jeep Dodge and Performance Chrysler Jeep Dodge are part of Performance Automotive Group based inOmaha, Nebraska. Tal Anderson is Chairman of the eleven dealership group located in theOmaha,Lincoln, and Kansas City metro areas. With an automotive history dating back to 1957, Performance Automotive Group employs more than 800 people.

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 throughoutthe 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 .

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 1,400 new playgrounds, skate parks, sports fields and ice rinks acrossNorth 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 inWashington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices inChicago andSan Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org .

SOURCE Chrysler LLC

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