KaBOOM! Play Days: Win a $10,000 Playground Improvement Grant

Playing, especially outside, is one of the most important things for kids (and adults) to do regularly.

My family is pretty fortunate in that we have a nice backyard and a park right across the street from us.

But many families aren’t so fortunate. According to KaBoom!, almost 60% of kids don’t have a playground within walking distance of their home. And that figure goes up to almost 70% in low-income areas.

To ensure that kids across the country get active and playful, national non-profit KaBOOM! is kicking-off the second annual KaBOOM! Play Days presented by Mott’s. KaBOOM! Play Days encourage communities to come together for fun activities and to improve local parks and playgrounds. KaBOOM! Play Days run from September 18 – September 26, but event planning starts now.

KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to saving play, and one of the ways it does that is through its annual community-hosted KaBOOM! Play Days. Last year, 1,254 communities in every U.S state and on every continent (yes, even Antarctica) hosted a KaBOOM! Play Day. More than 316,000 people participated in events, and afterwards, participants cast more than 197,000 votes for their favorite Play Day.

The KaBOOM! Play Day program is presented by Mott’s and made possible by the ongoing philanthropic support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as well as NFL PLAY 60. Operational support for the KaBOOM! Play Day program provided by National Environmental Education Foundation and Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Together with KaBOOM!, these organizations are working together to sign up thousands of communities to host events that support the importance of play in children’s lives.

Starting today, you can visit www.kaboom.org/playday to plan a Play Day in your community. Once there, you will be able to self-organize, recruit volunteers, invite attendees and receive event planning help. The online planner also contains the rules of classic games, such as Kick the Can, Red Rover, Red Light-Green Light, and Four Square, many of which are disappearing from children’s lives. The website gives communities everything they need to host a great Play Day. Then, once the events are over, deserving 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.

About KaBOOM!: Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! is a national non-profit organization dedicated to saving play. Through community building, the company is focused on giving every child in America a great place to play within walking distance. Since 1995, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct more than 1,700 new playgrounds, skate parks, sports fields and ice rinks across North America. KaBOOM! also offers a variety of resources, including an online community, free online trainings, grants, publications and the KaBOOM! National Campaign for Play, which includes Playful City USA and Playmakers – a national network of individual advocates for play.