Making Play a Priority: Non-Profit Organization KaBOOM! Names Orlando one of 151 "Playful City USA" Communities
- Communities Fighting Play Deficit by Implementing Policies to
Increase Play Opportunities for Children -

WHAT:
For the fourth year in a row, the City of Orlando has been designated a Playful City USA community for its efforts to increase play opportunities for children. In a time when only 1-in-5 children in the U.S. currently live within walking distance of a park or playground, the City of Orlando is one of 151 cities and towns across the nation that have taken innovative approaches to make play a priority for the health and well-being of their kids.

KaBOOM! selected Orlando for its dedication to play and cited its partnership approach as another reason why it was chosen. Orlando has 14 joint-use agreements with the Orange County Public Schools to use and maintain playgrounds and other playspaces. This allows the City to open up school playgrounds for public use during after-school hours..

WHY:
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, play is important to healthy brain development and allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive and emotional strength. Today’s children spend less time playing outside than any previous generations in part because only 20-percent live within walking distance of a park or playground. This Play Deficit is having profound consequences for kids physically as well as mentally and socially because children need a place to play every day in order to be active and healthy.

A key platform in combating the Play Deficit is Playful City USA, a national program advocating for local policies that increase play opportunities for children. KaBOOM!, the national non-profit organization dedicated to saving play, created Playful City USA in 2007 to help local governments address the Play Deficit by ensuring their children have the time and space they need to play.

WHO:
City of Orlando
City of Orlando’s Families, Parks and Recreation Department
Playful City USA
KaBOOM!

For more information on the KaBOOM! Playful City USA program, visit www.kaboom.org/playfulcityusa.

About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to saving play. Children today spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation, a fact that is having disastrous consequences on their health, achievement levels, and overall well-being. To fight this Play Deficit, social entrepreneur Darell Hammond founded non-profit KaBOOM! 15 years ago in Washington, D.C. with a vision of creating a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since then, KaBOOM! has mapped over 85,000 places to play, built more than 2,000 playgrounds, and successfully advocated for play policies in hundreds of cities across the country. KaBOOM! also provides communities with online tools to self-organize and take action to support play on both a local and national level. Hammond chronicles the founding of the organization and the importance of the cause of play in his The New York Times Best Seller KaBOOM!: How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play. The book details how businesses and communities can work together to save play for children across the country. All author proceeds support KaBOOM!. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.
 

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