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NLC and KaBOOM! Partnership
NLC and KaBOOM! have partnered to create great playspaces within walking distance of every child in America since 2007.
KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct almost 1,500 new playgrounds, skateparks, sports fields and ice rinks across North America since 1995. These hallmark, all-volunteer, done-in-a-day playspace builds serve as an achievable win for communities in need.
 In addition to these KaBOOM!-led builds, KaBOOM! offers Do-It-Yourself Tools, which provide online resources, including trainings, challenge grants, and publications for communities that wish to plan and build a new playspace on their own.
KaBOOM! serves as a driving force behind the movement in support of play. With the KaBOOM! National Campaign for Play, KaBOOM! inspires mass-action for the cause of play, empowers individuals to take action on behalf of play, and works to create playspaces through the
participation and leadership of communities.
KaBOOM! is dedicated to bringing play back into the lives of our nation’s children, knowing that this experience makes children happier, fitter, smarter, and more socially adept and creative in the here and now and in the future.
Past NLC/KaBOOM! partnerships
- More than 100 NLC delegates volunteered to join community residents and staff of the New Orleans Departments of Recreation and Parks and Parkways in November 2007 to build a playground from start to finish in Joe Brown Park in East New Orleans. Read NCW article * View build video on NLC TV
- Nearly 75 NLC delegates joined KaBOOM!, City of Orlando and Kool Aid in building a brand new playground at the Dr. James R. Smith Neighborhood Center in Orlando, Fla. during NLC's Congress of Cities in 2008. Read NCW article.
- Delegates who attended the 2009 Congress of Cities in San Antonio, Texas, joined NLC, KaBOOM!, the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department
and Huggies brand, in building a playground at the West End Park in San
Antonio. Read NCW article
Future NLC/KaBOOM! Partnerships
- NLC and KaBOOM! will partner again in 2010 to build a playground during the Congress of Cities in Denver, Colo., November 30 - December 4, 2010.
Why is KaBOOM! important to cities and towns?
KaBOOM! is committed to improving the quality of life in America's cities and towns, with particular emphasis on improving outcomes for children.
The entire process of building these playspaces involves local kids, parents, community volunteers and community funders. The projects help improve professional relationships among employees and strengthen community relations.
Playspaces – playgrounds, skateparks, ice rinks – serve as natural gathering spaces for kids, families and community members, and contribute to collaborative community improvement. In 2007, the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute at Northwestern University reported that a sense of community ownership over a playground will result in enhanced community pride and stronger community leadership. Playspaces help to strengthen muscles, as well as relationships among kids and parents. They help community members to devise new and creative neighborhood activities. They provide a safe and fun place for everyone to learn from each other and grow as a community.
Furthermore, findings from a RAND Health study conducted in 2006 found that this very type of unity among community members helps to combat the serious issues facing today’s kids, specifically childhood obesity. Dr. Deborah Cohen, a RAND health researcher, states that “providing more social support to children at the neighborhood level…is a potentially successful strategy for reducing the incidence of obesity in young people in the future.” Within a close-knit community, adults will look after children to ensure that they are safe and happy and kids will take on the healthy habits of the adults who are seen as strong role-models.
Playful City USA
The KaBOOM! National Campaign for Play rallies individuals and
communities to achieve better public policy, funding and public
awareness for increased play opportunities. As part of that campaign in
2007, KaBOOM! launched the Playful City USA recognition program,
which honors the efforts of communities that create an agenda on play,
because ultimately, a playful city is a healthy, happy, more
productive city.
Using a combination of KaBOOM! tools and local resources, the growing
network of Playful City USA communities continue to share their
experiences, develop exciting ways to support the health and well-being
of their children, and strengthen their framework for a successful
agenda on play.
The 2009 Playful City USA recipients were recognized during NLC's
Congress of Cities in San Antonio, Texas.
KaBOOM! also recently released their "Play Matters" report, which
identifies 12 relevant and innovative best practices in play.
View full report
Related Articles
11/23/09 Mayors Go KaBOOM! in San Antonio Nation's Cities Weekly
9/21/09 KaBOOM!, NLC to Build Playground at Congress of Cities Nation's Cities Weekly
7/16/09 Group names the year's most playful communities American City & County
5/4/09 KaBOOM! Playspace Finder Assists Cities in Charting Public Parks, Playgrounds Nation's Cities Weekly
9/29/08 KaBOOM! Plans Playground Build for 2008 Congress of Cities Nation’s Cities Weekly
3/24/08 Atlanta Challenges Other Cities to Become More Playful Nation's Cities Weekly
11/26/07 NLC Gives Back to New Orleans at Congress of Cities Nation's Cities Weekly
11/12/07 31 Cities Founding Members of Playful City USA Nation's Cities Weekly
10/1/07 New Orleans Students Design Playground to be Built During Congress of Cities Nation's Cities Weekly
7/2/07 NLC, KaBOOM! Make Way for Play Nation's Cities Weekly
2/19/07 KaBOOM! Continues to Explode with 'Playspaces' Nation's Cities Weekly
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