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FEB. 13, 2012 -- The eighth annual Family Read Night at St. Louis County Library will feature baseball legend Cal Ripken, Jr. Ripken will discuss his new young adult novel "Cal Ripken, Jr.'s All-Stars: Super-Sized Slugger."

The event, sponsored by St. Louis County Library Foundation, Delta Dental, and the St. Louis Cardinals, will take place at Library Headquarters (1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, Mo., 63124) on Friday, March 9 at 6 p.m. The program is free and open to the public. Doors will open and pre-show entertainment will begin at 5 p.m.

Left Bank Books will provide copies of the author's books for purchase and signing. The signing will be for books only—no memorabilia. Event co-sponsor, the St. Louis Cardinals, will provide several sets of baseball tickets and other items as door prize raffles at the event.

The second installment in the best-selling Cal Ripken, Jr.'s All-Star series is sure to be a grand slam for all readers. Cody Parker is the new kid in school. He's overweight, scared and hates his new life in Dullsville, Md., aka Baltimore, where he's a target for brutal teasing. But he loves baseball, and, despite his size, he plays third base like a dream. Too bad he's competing for the starting job on the Orioles of the Dulaney Babe Ruth League against budding hoodlum Dante Rizzo, who vows to squeeze Cody's head like a grape if he beats him out. Life gets even more complicated when Cody's school is beset by a rash of mysterious thefts, a crime wave that threatens to sideline Cody—and ruin a golden season for the Orioles. Will Cody ever succeed in getting people to see him for who he really is?

Ripken was a shortstop and third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles for his entire 21-season career (1981-2001). Nicknamed "The Iron Man" for his work ethic and reliability on the field, Ripken is most remembered for playing a record 2,632 straight games over 17 seasons, shattering the record previously held by the legendary Lou Gehrig. Ripken was a 19-time all-star and is one of eight players in history to amass more than 400 home runs and 3,000 hits. In 2007 he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, after earning the most votes in history. Ripken is CEO of Ripken Baseball, Inc., a company dedicated to growing the game of baseball at the grassroots level.

FEB. 7, 2012 -- St. Louis Mills invites families to experience Seussville. Children of all ages can engage their wild imaginations in honor of the 75th anniversary of the release of Dr. Seuss' first book, the beloved children's classic, "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street." This special tribute will also celebrate other Dr. Seuss treasures like "Green Eggs and Ham" and "The Cat in the Hat.

Celebrate Dr. Seuss from 12 - 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 3, at St. Louis Mills, 555 St. Louis Mills Blvd., Hazelwood, Mo. The free festivities will occur near Books-A-Million. For more information, call 314-227-5900 or visit the mall's website.

Photo courtesy of St. Louis Mills.

Feb. 8, 2012 -- 501 Connect has launched a new web-based service to connect those wanting to volunteer with opportunities to serve in the St. Louis area.

The Day of Service St. Louis website provides a central location for community members to find one-day, one-weekend or one-week Day of Service events hosted by local nonprofit organizations. These events provide meaningful service opportunities for every type of civic-minded person or group. Whether planting a community garden, running a 5k, collecting shoes and clothing, painting a room, or preparing a warm meal, to those served by St. Louis area nonprofit organizations, these events make a difference.

“Participating in a Day of Service project is a simple way of building volunteerism into family life," said Kathy Rose, executive director of 501 Connect. "The Day of Service St. Louis website provide families with a quick and easy way to locate volunteer opportunities that are meaningful to them.”

501 Connect is a St. Louis, Missouri nonprofit dedicated to strengthening the community by bringing together area nonprofits and volunteers. The organization's website makes it easy for those wanting to make a difference to find ways to volunteer by searching volunteer opportunities by area of interest, organization or location.

Related Story: Best Bets for Volunteering

FEB. 2, 2012 -- When the playground at Jaycee Park opens this summer in St. Charles, it will be the fourth fully accessible playground built in the metro area under the careful direction of Natalie Blakemore, executive director of Unlimited Play.

Building inclusive playgrounds that all children can enjoy is Blakemore's mission. An O'Fallon, Mo., mother of three, she simply couldn't find a local playground that allowed her son to play with his peers.

"Zach is in an electric wheelchair, so he doesn't have a lot of upper body strength and coordination," Blakemore explained. A playground is considered ADA compliant if it has a transfer station, a special platform with stairs that leads to the upper levels of the play area. Zach, and many other children with physical disabilities, does not have the strength to pull himself across the platform and up the stairs.

"ADA outlines legally what's accessible," Blakemore said. "For my son, what ADA requires means nothing."

Using her background in recreation management, her own experiences and those shared with her by parents of other children with special needs, through Unlimited Play Blakemore partners with cities and organizations to raise funds, plan and construct inclusive playgrounds that all children can enjoy together.

"Unlimited Play comes in to ensure a playground is truly accessible," she said.

The first playground Unlimited Play helped to build is named after Blakemore's inspiration: her son. Zachary's Playground is in Hawk Ridge Park (8392 Orf Road, Lake St. Louis, Mo., 63367). The playground includes what has become Unlimited Play's hallmarks: imaginative play areas, a variety of different swings, fully ramped access to all levels of the play structure, smooth play surfaces, water and shaded play areas, and metal and roller slides. Learn how these features improve accessibility.

Unlimited Play has also helped construct Tree Top Playground in Shaw Park (27 S. Brentwood Blvd., Clayton, Mo., 63105) and Brendan's Playground, which opened last October, in Paul A. Westhoff Park (810 Sheppard Drive, O'Fallon, Mo., 63366).

The playgrounds Blakemore has helped open are getting rave reviews from neighboring residents and parents of children with special needs. Families have been known to travel from neighboring counties to visit Unlimited Play's playgrounds.

"The kids say this is the best playground around," said Tom Drabelle about Brendan's Playground. Drabelle is the public relations director for the city of O'Fallon. "Several people have come to city council meetings to praise the playground."

Unlimited Play was involved in every step of the development and construction, Drabelle said. Almost 75 percent of the cost of the bug-themed playground was covered by grants or donations.

Construction is still not complete at Brendan's Playground, however. This spring the city plans to open a splash pad, but they need to raise some additional funds.

"It never dawned on me as a parent that there are kids with disabilities who cannot regulate their body temperatures," Drabelle said. Water play features are a lot of fun, but they improve accessibility to a playground by offering kids a way to stay cool, he explained.

The water play area at the planned playground at Jaycee Park (2805 Elm St., St. Charles, Mo., 63301) is one of the park's most exciting features, Blakemore said.

"Other parks have spray pads, but this will be more dramatic and beautiful," she said. The play area, inspired by the Missouri Bluffs, will have water shooting out of rocks and a stream flowing through it, she said.

When the playground opens, kids will be greeted by a giant sculpted apple that will have vines growing on it. Apple trees will surround the nature-themed park, as will a fence, which helps children with autism spectrum disorders understand the park's boundaries, Blakemore said.

According to the city of St. Charles website, the playground will cost $850,000 and so far $530,000 has been raised. Those that would like to contribute to this project can find more information on the St. Charles City Parks & Recreation website.

In addition to working with the city of St. Charles, Blakemore is expanding her reach beyond the St. Louis metro area. She's bringing her message of inclusion to parks throughout the country. She's recently appeared on the Today Show, and Blakemore and Victoria Schmidt Babb, Unlimited Play's community engagement director, were both named the Greatest Person of the Day by the Huffington Post.

"We're really looking for national support to continue to help children play across the nation," Blakemore said. "These parents, they wish so badly that their kids could go and play."

Learn more about Unlimited Play by visiting their website. And be sure to check the Sprout calendar in April for information about Unlimited Play play dates, which will occur once a month at different inclusive playgrounds.

Pictured:
Top: Natalie and Todd Blakemore, vice president of the Unlimited Play board, dreamed of playgrounds accessible to all kids. Now there are three playgrounds in the metro area--and another on the way--where the Blakemore's three kids can play together.  The Blakemore kids, from left: Brianna, 10, Zachary, 11, and Cassi, 7.

Bottom: The rendering of the new playground at Jaycee Park highlights fully ramped play areas, water play, shaded pavilions and fencing. See the complete rendering.

Images courtesy of Natalie Blakemore.