New Playground at Nehemiah Center

The Ginny Burge Playground will give inner-city children a place to climb, slide, giggle and dream for many years. The Center was the recipient of this tremendous gift when Board member Frank Burge, Sr. learned that the previous play structure had become unsafe for the students.

“Frank decided that a new playground would be the perfect Christmas gift for his wife, Ginny, a former Nehemiah Center Board member and advocate for Houston’s underserved,” said Nehemiah Executive Director Tonia Labbé. “The Burges have a heartwarming history of taking care of our babies at Christmastime. As the founders of Beautique Day Spa & Salon in Rice Village, Frank and Ginny, along with their partner Richard Proto, host an annual evening of pampering for Nehemiah children, some of whom have never had a professional hair cut in their lives. It is a precious Christmas event that the students look forward to all year long,” said Labbé.

In addition to the annual Christmas evening of pampering, the Proto family and the staff of Beautique Day Spa & Salon established the Frank and Ginny Burge Scholarship Fund at the Nehemiah Center to honor Frank upon his retirement from the business. The fund underwrites tuition at the Nehemiah Center for two children living at or below the poverty level.