First of two playgrounds donated from Finland opens in Lviv, Ukraine

Lviv playground is ready 

Today, a celebration is held to officially open the first playground, built for the pupils of Lviv Public School 62. Using the safe and inspiring equipment produced by Lappset, the primary school pupils aged 6 to 10 years can now enjoy fun activities such as climbing and hanging, not only when playing freely during breaks, but also during their gym lessons.  

The principal of the school, Oksana Gurei expresses the joy of the kids and their teachers: 

"We’ve been dreaming of a beautiful playground for many years so that our kids could enjoy their time at school, and we shouldn’t take them far away to the park to play outdoors. One year ago, I approached Leopolis Hotel General Manager asking for some help to make our school life a bit better and here we are - our dream came true, and kids will start playing here already today as we have a school summer camp."  

 

Why this school? 

Lviv Public School 62 is located in the very city center, in a historic building. Leopolis Hotel Lviv, owned by Hartwall family from Finland for 15 years, is situated right next to the school. The hotel has been financially supporting the school and initiated the Joy of Play project as a part of its commitment to supporting the local community. The hotel management has supervised the project on-site and made sure it was completed as planned.   

 

Facts and figures of the project  

The total value of Lviv project made around 65 000€, 35% of which was spent on the preparation stage: ground works, water drainage system, hydroisolation, and partial facade restoration – to make sure the playground will serve for many years. Because there is no access to the inner courtyard for construction technics, most of the work has been done manually. A quarter of the budget was spent to install the equipment and a safe, contemporary rubber surface. The cost of the equipment and logistics made up 35% of the budget, but Lappset provided it for free and its logistic partners ensured its delivery from Lapland to Lviv free of charge. Reima covered a sufficient part of all the expenses. In total, it took 3 months to complete all the work. 

 

Kyiv: the location is being negotiated 

The second playground will be installed in Kyiv, and the exact location is now being discussed. The project team hopes to get the construction work started during the summer. 

 

- - - 

 

About The Joy of Play project 

The Joy of Play project is carried out by the Hartwall family and their team, who have been operating in Ukraine for a long time. The country, and its people, are very close to the family. Since the war broke out, they have taken several measures to help the country, collecting materials for humanitarian aid. Trucks packed with supplies have reached both the military and civilians. The family’s companies have talented staff and a large network of contacts in Ukraine, who ensure that the help goes where it is most needed. The local coordinating hub for the project is the Leopolis Hotel in Lviv.  

 

Read the previous project press release.

 

For more information and photos of the project, please contact:  

In Finland: Ursula Blässar and Pia Hartwall: joyofplay@khw-invest.fi 

In Ukraine: KatyaMatiushchenko: kateryna.matiushchenko@leopolishotel.com