NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A refurbished playground opened today at Bouton Street Park in Norwalk, with a ribbon cutting by Mayor Richard Moccia.

“When the NCCA invited me to partner on the playground project, I immediately suggested Bouton Street Park because the playground equipment was more than 20 years old and badly in need of repairs”

The park’s grand opening marks the culmination of a unique collaborative project led by the Norwalk Corporate Citizenship Alliance (NCCA), a committee of the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, and the Norwalk Department of Recreation and Parks, with support from community partner Northeast Community Church.

Funding and volunteers were provided by major corporate partners Pepperidge Farm, Incorporated and Beiersdorf, Incorporated, as well as GE Capital, AT&T, FactSet Research Systems, Mutual Security Credit Union, The Hour, Tauck and The Norwalk Children’s Foundation.

“When the NCCA invited me to partner on the playground project, I immediately suggested Bouton Street Park because the playground equipment was more than 20 years old and badly in need of repairs,” said Mike Mocciae, Director, Recreation and Parks, City of Norwalk. “I’m excited that, as a result of successful public and private partnerships, Norwalk families have a new, safe place to play and have fun with their children.”

The project used the community build model, which empowers the local community to participate in the design and installation. Norwalk parents and children gave input by drawing pictures of their dream playground, voting on specific components and colors, and voicing concerns about fencing, drainage and lighting.

Playground equipment provider O’Brien and Sons used the feedback in the design, and the feedback also allowed the Recreation and Parks Department to make additional improvements to the park overall. Corporate and community volunteers worked together, with supervision from Landscape Structures, on the installation.

About Pepperidge Farm

Pepperidge Farm, Incorporated, based in Norwalk, Connecticut, is a leading provider of premium quality fresh bakery products, cookies, crackers, and frozen foods. Among the company’s most popular products are Sausalito® and Milano® cookies, Goldfish® crackers, Baked Naturals® crackers, frozen Puff Pastry, frozen garlic loaves and Texas toasts, and more than 50 varieties of fresh baked breads including Pepperidge Farm® Swirl, Farmhouse and Whole Grain and Ecce Panis® artisan breads. Pepperidge Farm was founded in Connecticut in 1937 by Margaret Rudkin, an entrepreneurial homemaker who began baking fresh bread for her allergy-afflicted son. Today, the company has nine bakeries and more than 4,000 employees. Pepperidge Farm has been part of Campbell Soup Company since 1961.

About Beiersdorf Inc.

Beiersdorf Inc is the North American affiliate of cosmetics company Beiersdorf AG, which is based in Hamburg, Germany, and has around 16,500 employees worldwide. Its sales in 2012 amounted to €6 billion, the company has been listed on the DAX since December 2008, and has the world’s largest skin care brand, NIVEA. Other names in its successful international brand portfolio include NIVEA Men, Eucerin, Aquaphor, La Prairie and Labello. Beiersdorf has 130 years of skin care experience and is known for its innovative and high-quality products.