Now Open: Leominster Playground
For immediate release: Ribbon Cutting for Leominster Playground for Children in Foster Care
Leominster, MA –August 22, 2025- Rise Above Foundation, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF), hosted a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Reception last Friday, August 22, 2025 to celebrate the opening of a new playground at DCF’s Leominster Area Office.
The playground provides a safe, welcoming, and developmentally appropriate outdoor space for children in foster care and their families to connect during visits. For many families, these visits are an essential part of the path to reunification and healing.
“Creating outdoor family visiting spaces at DCF offices supports the Department’s focus on family time and helps promote strong, healthy attachments for families and children,” said DCF Commissioner Staverne Miller. “These spaces also allow parents to practice skills they are learning in treatment and services in a more natural environment that fosters safe reunification.”
This is only the second playground of its kind at a DCF office in the Commonwealth, following the 2021 opening of a similar space in Worcester.
“We are so proud to honor the families involved with DCF through this project,” said Rise Above Co-founder and Executive Director Sarah Baldiga. “This space is about dignity, hope, and joy. It’s about creating the kind of environment children deserve as they grow, heal, and connect with those they love.”
Along with contributions from individual donors, businesses and community organizations, the playground project was made possible through the generous support of a Massachusetts state budget earmark led by Senator John J. Cronin and funding from UMass Memorial Health – HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital.
“We are thrilled to see the DCF playground project in Leominster come to fruition. This initiative reflects our shared commitment to supporting children and families in our community. HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital was proud to be an early supporter of this effort through a $47,500 Community Health Improvement Grant.” stated Charles Cavagnaro, III, MD, President of HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital.
The Leominster Area Office serves approximately 2,000 children annually, including over 400 in foster care, from eight surrounding cities and towns. This playground will offer a private, family-friendly setting for visits supported by social workers, parent aides, and staff.
Strengthening families:
Family time allows children and parents to maintain and strengthen bonds, which is critical when they are separated due to out-of-home care. It also provides opportunities for caseworkers to assess the parent-child relationship and determine how to support it, if needed. Research has shown that family time can help lead to reunification, reduce time in out-of-home care, and reduce child behavior problems.
The power of play:
The United Nations High Commission on Human Rights recognized play as a fundamental right of every child. Play with parents sets the stage for children’s ability to successfully play with peers. Play can help children heal from trauma, helping them regulate emotions, providing an outlet to deal with stress in the moment, allowing them to revisit and understand disturbing experiences after the fact, and giving them tools to cope with distress in the future. Several studies have found pretend play to be positively related to coping and emotion regulation.
Leading the way for the state:
The Children’s Bureau (a division of the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services) has recommended that state child welfare agencies utilize non-threatening, natural, family-like settings for visits to occur. The Bureau is encouraging states to work with community partners to identify more home-like settings for supervised visitation and to allow for parental participation in normal daily experiences of their children’s lives, like recreational activities. In 2021, Rise Above and DCF built the first playground of its kind on a Massachusetts DCF property in Worcester. We are proud to partner again to bring the state’s second dedicated family play space to DCF’s new office location in Leominster (move-in date TBD spring 2024).
Addressing an increasing need:
There are approximately 2,000 youth served by the Leominster DCF office each year, including 400 in foster care. The playground will support biological families in their journeys to reunite safety with their children. It will provide a private and safe environment to better allow for parents to be actively coached and mentored by social workers and parent aids, reducing stigma for children and parents, promoting trust and accelerating skill building.
It's not too late: Support the playground project!
$50,000: Champions
Every contributor will be recognized at the Ribbon Cutting, name on signage at the playground, name on campaign website, with link to business website and press release opportunity.
$25,000 - $49,999: Builders
Every contributor will be recognized at the Ribbon Cutting, name on signage at the playground, name on campaign website, with link to business website and press release opportunity.
$15,000 - $24,999: Explorers
Every contributor will be recognized at the Ribbon Cutting, name on signage at the playground, name on campaign website.
$10,000 - $14,999: Believers
Every contributor will be recognized at the Ribbon Cutting, name on signage at the playground, name on campaign website.
$5,000 - $9,999: Dreamers
Every contributor will be recognized at the Ribbon Cutting and name on signage at the playground.
$2,500 - $4,999: Friends
Every contributor will be recognized at the Ribbon Cutting and name on signage at the playground.
$50 - $999: Friends
Every contributor will be recognized at the Ribbon Cutting.
Kids: Any Amount
Every kid involved in making a contribution of any amount will receive special recognition for their participation in building the playground.
Donations and sponsorship payments may be made by credit card below, or checks may be sent to
Rise Above Foundation, PO Box 174, Northbridge, MA 01534.
Please contact Rise Above Executive Director Sarah Baldiga by email or at 855-246-8850 x0 for questions.