93 Communities Across U.S. Make Play a Priority

KaBOOM!, a national non-profit organization that supports great public places to play for children and families has recognized Kenner as one of 93 Playful City USA communities for the third straight year.

In a statement issued from its Washington, D.C.headquarters, KaBoom! said that in a time when 82 percent of parents believe children don’t spend enough time playing outside, 93 communities across the nation have taken innovative approaches to make play a priority for the health and well-being of their kids. Communities large and small, urban and rural, have created initiatives designed to increase the quantity and quality of play and playgrounds, while improving access to existing play opportunities.

To honor cities and towns making this commitment to play, KaBOOM!, which is dedicated to bringing play back into children’s lives, named them Playful City USA communities. In the third year of this annual program, 32 of 93 Playful City USA communities were repeat honorees from 2008, while 22 cities (including Kenner) were cited for the third consecutive year.

KaBOOM! said 39 new communities have joined others in making a commitment to children, including Honolulu, Indianapolis and San Antonio. These 93 communities created and implemented programs to positively impact childhood wellness, public safety and the quality of life.

KaBOOM! envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since 1995, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct more than 1,600 new playgrounds, skateparks, 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. While its headquarters are in Washington, D.C.,

KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.

Each of the 2009 Playful City USA communities demonstrated creative commitments to the cause of play in the areas of quantity, quality and access. Quality relates to the number of usable, open playspaces. Quality involves subjective factors that encourage repeated use and make playspaces engaging, exciting, interesting and fun. Access entails the ability to get to a playspace (roads, trails) and a lack of barriers to the playspace (cost, safety, traffic, locked gates, equity).

Playful City USA celebrates and highlights these unique initiatives developed by communities across the country. A primary goal of Playful City USA is to encourage cities and towns to share creative ideas, concepts and programs in an effort to increase play opportunities for children.

KaBOOM! also selected Kenner for its dedication to play. A main goal of the Kenner Parks and Recreation Department is to make playspaces more accessible to all citizens, which will attract more people to parks and recreation activities. The department has been working to secure funding opportunities that will help them achieve this goal and will formally establish the Kenner Sports Foundation to secure grants in the future.