El Paso YMCA Receives Child-Designed & Much Needed Playground: Dick Poe Dealerships, Mack Massey Chrysler Jeep(R) Dodge, Viva Dodge Chrysler Jeep, Chrysler LLC and KaBOOM! Representatives Build New Playground

- Employees from four local Chrysler, Jeep(R) and Dodge Dealers spearhead effort to provide a safe place for children to play

- Playground is the tenth of 25 scheduled to be built nationwide in 2008 by Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealers, Chrysler LLC, KaBOOM! and community partners

EL PASO, Texas, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Today more than 250 volunteers from Dick Poe Chrysler Jeep(R); Dick Poe Dodge; Mack Massey Chrysler Jeep Dodge; Viva Dodge Chrysler Jeep; the YMCA Northeast Family Branch; The Chrysler Foundation; Chrysler Financial; organizers from KaBOOM! and residents of the local community joined forces to build a new and secure playground at the YMCA.

Dealership employees led the volunteer effort to build a state-of-the-art playground to serve the needs of the community where the YMCA of El Paso aims to build strong kids, strong families and strong communities. The new, updated playground will provide the children who frequent the YMCA with a great, safe and enjoyable place to play.

"I want to congratulate everyone who worked so hard on this worthwhile project," said Dick Poe, President - Dick Poe Motors.

Planning for the playground began at a Design Day held in June 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.

"This playground is a tremendous asset to the YMCA of El Paso and to the northeast El Paso community," Kevin Pearson, President & CEO - YMCA of El Paso said. "Having a safe, free, activity-filled area for kids and families to congregate is important in developing a sense of community and belonging. This helps us in our goal to build strong kids, families and communities."

The playspace will be the 10th 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 an enjoyable 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 YMCA a great place to play."

Dick Poe Motors

Dick Poe Motors is celebrating 80 years in the automobile business in El Paso and is very proud to be taking part in the KaBOOM! project. Many military personnel are arriving at Ft. Bliss and the timing is perfect, as is the location of the new playground.

Mack Massey

Our purpose at Massey Automotive LP is to operate a successful dealership selling new Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and all types of pre-owned vehicles. By providing all our customers with a shopping, buying, service and ownership experience that consistently satisfies each individual's needs and exceeds their expectations in a comfortable, supportive environment we will continue receiving repeat and referral clientele.

Viva Auto Group

Viva Chrysler Jeep Dodge is part of The Viva Auto Group based in El Paso, Texas. Jimmy Dick is the President of the seven dealership group located throughout the El Paso area. With an automotive history dating back to 1985, the Viva Auto Group employs more than 550 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 throughout the 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 across North 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 in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Chrysler LLC

CONTACT: Christina Biache of Chrysler, +1-248-512-9414 (office),
+1-586-243-1569 (cell), CB514@chrysler.com; Mike Vietti of KaBOOM!,
+1-202-464-6076 (office), +1-202-327-0086 (cell), MVietti@kaboom.org

Web site: http://media.chrysler.com/
http://www.chrysler.com/
http://www.thechryslerfoundation.com/
http://www.kaboom.org/

NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, please visit the Chrysler media site at http://www.media.chrysler.com .

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Profile: automotive-news