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Actor Kirk Douglas' 401st Playground
Actor Kirk Douglas gives children at the Lillian Elementary School a high five in Los Angeles Wednesday, May 28, 2008 (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Since 1997, actor Kirk Douglas and his wife Anne have donated about one playground renovation per week to Los Angeles area schools. Yesterday at Lillian Elementary School in South LA marked their 401st and last.
The playground project began in 1997 "while Anne Douglas was reading in the Los Angeles Times about the sorry state of school playgrounds in the area," reports USA Today. She said "it was deplorable that for me, a country like this, a city like Los Angeles, would tolerate this." So after some foot work and political networking, the project began. The Douglas' donate a grant of $25,000 per playground and parents and school boosters must match that in money or services.
Their goal was 400 and now the nonagenarian actor is on to, not retirement, but writing his 10th book (he promotes via MySpace) and one particular social cause of getting the government to apologize for slavery . However, he welcomes others to pick up the playground do gooding. "The program could benefit the entire country. I think every individual should take a more personal action about their surroundings."
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