Hi Folks! Here’s a note from KaBOOM!, the non-profit dedicated to making sure there are playgrounds everywhere, and that kids actually get out and enjoy them. Like “Take Our Children to the Park…And Leave Them There Day,” KaBOOM! has a week in September when it encourages communities to get all the kids outside, playing together. And now the community with the best plans for revamping a playground, or getting kids active, or creating community connectedness seems to be eligible for a grant, too. A biggie!
So here, without further ado, I present to you: KaBOOM! (a name with vaguely terrorist connotations, at least to this New Yorker, but what the hey. Too late to change it, I guess.) — L.
ORGANIZE A KABOOM! DAY
Hi Free-Rangers! — If you’re following this blog, you already know how important play is to keeping children happy and healthy. Play is in jeopardy across the country, and national non-profit KaBOOM! is dedicated to saving it. You can help, too! To spread the word around the importance of play plan a KaBOOM! Play Day for the week of September 18-26th. KaBOOM! Play Days encourage communities to come together for fun activities and to improve local parks and playgrounds.
Last year, more than 1,250 communities in all 50 states and on all 7 continents (yes, even Antarctica) got together to celebrate a KaBOOM! Play Day. This year, the KaBOOM! Play Day program is presented by Mott’s.
KaBOOM! Play Days help communities:
- Have fun! A KaBOOM! Play Day is about adults and kids coming together to have fun and enjoy games, fresh air, and good company.
- Connect. Planning a Play Day strengthens community ties and gives participants a chance to meet and work together.
- Improve your playground. Many KaBOOM! Play Day events include improvement projects, such as planting flowers or trees, building benches or picnic tables, painting murals, and much more!
- Advocate for play. Play is on the decline. By participating in this program, you are joining a national movement and helping KaBOOM! spread the message that play is vital for America’s children.
Free-Rangers, parents, teachers and community leaders who want to get their kids outside and active can visit www.kaboom.org/playday to plan a Play Day in their community. Once there, you’ll be able to choose games and activities, self-organize, recruit volunteers, invite attendees and receive event planning help. When the events are over, stellar Play Day communities with the best improvement projects will be eligible for $25,000 in grants to help them further improve their local park or playground.
By hosting a KaBOOM! Play Day, you will not only ensure children in your community get out and play for an afternoon, but you can help make your local park or playground an inviting place, where families can spend time together for years to come. — Your friends a KaBoom!
5 Comments
This sounds like a great thing. I just hope some people don’t do it to just take the grant and use it on something else.
Visited the website, but couldn’t get past the corporate sponsorship angle: “KaBOOM! Play Day, presented by Mott’s.” Ick. Makes me sad for the state of childhood these days.
I’m sorry Lenore but this sounds like just another adult run activity that the kids “go along with”. Is it a stretch to envision a parent and child participating and the parent saying, first we’ll plant flowers for 15 min, then on to a “free range” game of kickball, then oops, 15 minutes are up!!! On to finger painting! I’m just not into the spirit w/ this one
Have you seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? He stuffs a stone in the gun barrel of the tank and it explodes inside the tank and leaves the barrel looking like a banana tree. So all you have to do is block the tubes, it’ll go kablam and the sub will look like an exploding cigar, though a pity about the sailors.
With the large selection of web pages over the Internet, visitors are likely to switch on from one site to another. They usually tend to spend considerable time on that site which appears to be visually appealing and interesting.