Playground to be work of full community
May 13, 2008
By Laurel Walker
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Governmental gobbledygook aside, something special is under way in Oconomowoc.

Gov. Jim Doyle proclaimed last Thursday "Oconomowoc Community Built Playground Design Day" - huh? - and not to be outdone, Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas followed suit.

Cathy Schreiber doesn't mind a politician bringing that "sense of importance" to a grass-roots project she cares about, so she brushed off my mockery of one more proclamation from the gubernatorial assembly line that bring us such gems as Root Canal Appreciation Day.

"Obviously, it got your attention," she noted. Touché.

What really gets my attention, though, is not a politician's pomp but a bottom-up effort of community volunteers to build a playground for children, fully accessible to those with disabilities right alongside those without.

This one looks like it will be a doozy.

...

Read the full article

Learn how to make play a priority with your elected officials

Engineering a playground
By Jodi Blasé
Burlington (Mass.) Union
May 08, 2008

Mary Sweeney is an engineer who took time off to raise her family, only to discover her former occupation could provide a much-needed service to Francis Wyman School. Sweeney’s involvement began almost two years ago when she started attending PTO meetings.

“There were discussions about renovations in the playground, especially around the Burlington LABBB program. The safety of the playground had deteriorated so much that they could no longer bring the children out to play. There was even one section of the playground that was near the school windows that created dust in the classroom and the teachers wanted it paved over,” she said.

By the last PTO meeting in May of ’07, the board learned that both money and plans weren’t approved. Sweeny, who had been voted secretary, along with other officers of the PTO, thought they should take matters into their own hands to help initiate a new play area.

“We thought it would help the school if the PTO formed a playground committee so that there would be another group of advocates to promote the cause,” she said.

...

Read the full article

Become a Playmaker to advocate for play in your community!

What's been happening in the KaBOOM! online community?

Show us your play face!
In April, we asked you to post add the number of playgrounds you've helped build to your profile and many of you did! See the top builders on kaboom.org here.

This month, we want to see your "Play face"! Go to your profile page and upload a picture of yourself showing off the exhilaration that can only come from the joy of play. At the end of May, we'll post our favorites in the Forums. This is your chance to show off how fun and playful you can be.

Edit your profile now to show off your play face! 

New videos
We added some cool new videos, including our new public service announcements. Be the first one in your neighborhood to watch them!
 
Worst. Playground. Ever.
Think your playground is bad? Jackthecat found a picture of a playground that can really put things in perspective!

Delve into the Forum archives to find hidden gems!
Having just celebrated Earth Day, many people want to know how to make their Build Day a little more eco-friendly. Check out this thread from last year with lots of tips for keeping your waste down. Don't forget to post your own ideas!

Warning: Approaching deadline!
The deadline to turn in your Playful City USA application is looming! The manager of the KaBOOM! National campaign for Play has been answering your questions and posting best practices in the Playful City USA Forums. Playspace audit woes? Committee spreadsheet quandaries? Play Day mysteries? You have questions, the KaBOOM! community has answers.

Clearwater's playgrounds are disappearing
By Mike Donila
St. Petersburg Times
April 29, 2008

CLEARWATER — Astra Dialinakis used to walk her 2-year-old daughter, Fotini, to the Country Hollow Park playground almost every day.

But on a recent morning, they were greeted by a wrecking crew in the midst of taking down the youngster's favorite swing set.

Dialinakis consoled the teary toddler, telling her the city would build a new one.

Not true.

The small playground was coming down for good.

And as more playgrounds in Clearwater age, they will follow.

"I had to lie to her and say we'll get another one," said Dialinakis, 31. "With the little vocabulary she knew, she tried to tell her dad that they took away the swings. It was devastating."

Now the family drives to a playground behind the Countryside branch library. But that, too, is set to close.

...

Read the full article

Discuss play advocacy in our Forums

Become a Playmaker: Raise your voice for play!

'You're It!' May Again Be Heard at Va. School
Michael Alison Chandler
The Washington Post
April 24, 2008

Students at Kent Gardens Elementary School in McLean are refining their dodging skills and polishing their recess etiquette this week in preparation for a game of tag.

Three weeks ago, Principal Robyn Hooker halted the pastime, saying that it had become too aggressive. Her decision set off debate among parents -- some appreciative of her caution and others wary that the restriction was excessive. Now, a committee of administrators and teachers has devised a plan to reinstate the game.

After a week of "reorientation lessons on playground safety" in physical education classes, classroom discussions of safe recess behavior and monitoring by teachers on the blacktop, students are likely to be yelling "You're it!" by tomorrow.

Read the full article

Discuss this article in the Forums

A playground pastime is getting a timeout this spring at a McLean elementary school.

Robyn Hooker, principal of Kent Gardens Elementary School, has told students they may no longer play tag during recess after determining that the game of chasing, dodging and yelling "You're it!" had gotten out of hand. Hooker explained to parents in a letter this month that tag had become a game "of intense aggression."

The principal said that her goal is to keep students safe and that she hopes to restore tag (as well as touch football, also now on hold) after teachers and administrators review recess policies.

The decision has touched off a debate among parents. Some call the restriction an example of overzealous rulemaking that fails to address root problems and undermines children's development; others say it's best to err on the side of caution.

"We are regulating the fun out of normal childhood activity," said Jan van Tol, father of a Kent Gardens sixth-grader. "In our effort to be so overprotective, we are not letting children be children."

Gerri Swarm, secretary of the school's Parent-Teacher Association, said she was glad the principal was taking seriously student concerns about being pushed or shoved. "In this day and age, you can't dismiss this as something not to worry about," she said.

Read the full article

Discuss this article in our Forums

Year-Round, All-Ages Play Highlights Yuma's 'Playful City USA' Status

By Larry Nelson
Mayor, City of Yuma, Ariz.

U.S. Mayor magazine - Apr. 7, 2008
Reprinted with permission

Yuma Mayor Larry Nelson

Yuma’s participation in KaBOOM’s Playful City USA initiative, which is a national recognition program that honors cities and towns across the nation for “creating an agenda for play,” not only placed the city in elite company across the nation, but provided many other benefits as well. Those include improvements in planning and public participation and increasing awareness for Parks and Recreation and its role in how citizens play.

But perhaps most important is that this campaign allowed Yuma residents—and the world—to learn that the “we” in “We Play the Yuma Way” is everybody—from the very young to the very old. And the “way” is every day—365 days a year.

Yuma’s a ‘Playful City’ for everybody, all year round. Playing in Yuma starts at a very young age—virtually all ages can play in Yuma, from young kids to senior citizens: from the ‘tot lot’ at our Stewart Vincent Wolfe Creative Playground and our recreation programs for toddlers all the way up to the seniors who run and walk on our paths and in our 5K/10K’s...

Playful City USA: El Paso

Watch El Paso's video

From the March 2008 issue of Texas Town & City magazine
Reprinted with permission

Play among children is on the decline throughout the United States. Childhood obesity rates have more than doubled in the last 20 years. Increasingly, children lack a safe and enjoyable playground within walking distance in their neighborhood.

In an effort to improve the state of play, the national non-profit organization KaBOOM! launched its Playful City USA initiative in 2007 as part of its National Campaign for Play. In October, KaBOOM! announced the 31 founding Playful City USA communities. Cities like Atlanta and San Francisco made the cut. But so did communities like Wapello, Iowa (population 2,200) and Shirley, Mass. (population 7,600).

The lone representative from the Lone Star State was El Paso.

And the city is extremely proud.

“After this designation, and being the only city in Texas that was honored, El Pasoans are very proud and joyful that the city has received such recognition and that this will help lead the way on other future promotional and tourism related opportunities,” El Paso Recreation Services Manager Joe Rodriguez said.

To Rodriguez, who was instrumental in the application process, it was common sense that El Paso should apply to be recognized for the city’s efforts. El Paso had previously made a commitment to providing a substantial amount of open space to its residents and the Playful City USA program matched the city’s ideals.

“Here in El Paso, we have always known that we are a playful city due to our wonderful year-round sunny weather and our friendly and easy-going citizens,” Rodriguez said. “We have over 200 parks, 24 recreation centers and 14 swimming pools and when these facilities are open they are used to their fullest potential.”

PDF	Read the whole article

Learn more about Playful City USA

Wondering why you should attend a Workshop Entirely on Play (WE Play!)?

Here are just a sampling of what you'll take away from the experience:

1. Practical tools and resources for building playgrounds and advocating for play
2. Kazoo-playing skills
3. Tons of helpful information to take home
4. An in-depth knowledge of the importance of play
5. Connections to others in your region who are passionate about play
6. The opportunity to help build a playground in just one day
7. Sandpails full of inspiration!

At the Washington, D.C. WE Play! event Apr. 10, many participants came for the practical how-tos regarding playground building and play advocacy, and left feeling inspired and energized.

"I came because I wanted to find out more about how to plan and make an exciting playground for kids," said Inez Edwards, who runs the youth wellness program for the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington. "I'm motivated by the passion people have already put into playgrounds and parks. It's a community effort!"

Birju Patel, a senior at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, has been working with his university to build a playground. "One thing that inspired [my team] is we did a site visit and saw kids running around in an open field, playing with sticks and throwing rocks at each other. Knowing you have the resources to change that...you know the result will be spectacular," he said. "Learning the process — the Roadmap — was really important for me as a person who's trying to organize a playground project."

Participants heard from Steve Coleman, executive director for Washington Parks & People, who shared his the story of organizing a project that has brought a Washington, D.C. park back to life. The project has involved over 40,000 volunteers so far, who have cleaned up and restored a park that was once a haven for drug dealers. The project has created new jobs and made the park into a community gathering space, which includes a youth-tended garden. The youth sell the produce they grow in a Farmer's Market in the park.

"One day the drug dealers were there, selling heroin and PCP, and the next day the kids got there before the drug dealers and were selling peas and carrots," said Coleman. "The looks on the drug dealer's faces..."

This year's WE Play! events feature not just information on building playgrounds, but also lots of great tips and discussions on how to make play a priority in people's communities. Participants can choose between a playspace builder's track and a play advocacy track.

"At the play advocacy track at the D.C. WE Play!, we had great discussions about combating childhood obesity and ensuring safe play environments for all kids, especially those in at-risk communities," said Brooke Bennett, national advocacy manager for KaBOOM!. "Participants shared best practices, discussed how to engage other citizens, and learned how the KaBOOM! tools and resources could help them be catalysts for change in their communities."

The day following the Washington, D.C. WE Play!, participants had the opportunity to participate in a playground build with So Others Might Eat (SOME) Zagami House in Southeastern Washington, D.C., home to 12 formerly homeless and extremely low income families.

You can participate in an upcoming WE Play! event, too! Dates for upcoming events are below.

Upcoming WE Play! dates & locations

Learn more about WE Play!

April 8, 2008 
By Dan Geringer, Philadelphia Daily News

Apr. 8--ON MOST NIGHTS, Anthony "Ant" Washington leaves his wife and children sleeping at home and goes over to his mother's house on Orianna Street near Dauphin, across from the baseball field, so he can wake up often in the wee hours, walk the field and make sure no one is messing with the miracle.

Responding to a Daily News report on how 10 years of city neglect ruined a youth baseball field at 4th and Dauphin streets, urban and suburban angels rushed to the rescue last week and saved the summer for 300 neighborhood children.

"This is amazing," said Washington, longtime Nelson Playground rec leader, standing on the resurrected field in the historically underserved Fairhill section of North Philadelphia, which has always been his home. "This looks like a completely different ball field."

It is. Only two weeks ago, the field was a dangerous mess.

A deeply rutted footpath ran across the outfield from Leithgow Street to Orianna Street, carved into the turf by residents who removed bolts in the chain-link security gates and used the field as a short cut -- walking, biking, pushing strollers.

The danger of a child breaking a leg while chasing a fly ball across that trenchlike footpath made the field unplayable.

Because the infield was built over the foundations of abandoned rowhouses on a demolished block of 4th Street, sinkholes sometimes develop, threatening to swallow base paths and the pitcher's mound.

Drug users discarded dozens of used syringes around the benches where the boys and girls, ages 4 to 14, will sit while waiting to bat.

All that changed dramatically after the Daily News story.

...

Read the full story.

Discuss playspace renovation and play advocacy in our Forums.

Jamison to help build playground in Shreveport, promote importance of play among children

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  As part of his ongoing efforts to provide “A Better Tomorrow” for children, NBA All-Star Antawn Jamison and national non-profit KaBOOM! announced a new partnership to encourage and promote play among children across the country.

KaBOOM!, an organization that empowers communities to build playgrounds, will team with Jamison to sponsor a playground build in his hometown of Shreveport in September of 2008 with the potential to build playgrounds in other areas in the future. Additionally, Jamison will serve as a KaBOOM! All-Star Playmaker – an extension of the Playmaker Network consisting of national leaders and celebrities who take action for play on behalf of KaBOOM!, while promoting the importance of play.

Jamison, whose “A Better Tomorrow” campaign has helped countless individuals across the country via scholarships, clothing and food donations and financial contributions, participated alongside hundreds of volunteers to build a KaBOOM! playground in just one day in New Orleans on Feb. 15 at the Mahalia Jackson Early Childhood and Family Learning Center in conjunction with the 2008 NBA All-Star Game. Inspired by the massive community involvement and the tangible result of a playground that will serve thousands of children, Jamison contacted KaBOOM! to facilitate building a playground in his childhood home of Shreveport.

“Encouraging children to play by building playgrounds is important to me because it not only allows a kid to be a kid, but it also helps bring entire communities together,” Jamison said. “Those are two of my biggest charitable goals. It seems that television and video games are making so many children grow up too quickly these days. Playing video games is fun but playing outside and interacting with other kids is where friendships are built and dreams are created.” 

... 

The playground as a place for some serious fun
A growing body of research suggests play helps kids build social skills, aids their intellectual development and is strongly linked to early literacy

Chad Skelton, Vancouver Sun
Saturday, April 05, 2008

In 2003, officials at the Central Okanagan school district put forward a proposal to get rid of recess at its elementary schools. The idea was supported by all the district's principals, who were convinced the plan would reduce misbehaviour by kids and leave teachers more time for instruction.

Parents, however, rebelled.

And after a survey found 98 per cent of parents opposed to the idea, the district backed down and recess was saved.

To many parents, the importance of play is obvious -- children, especially young children, need unstructured time to pretend, interact with their peers and explore the world around them.

Yet, at the same time, play is increasingly under attack: from schools trying to cram more into the day and, often, from parents themselves, who see it as an expendable luxury when compared to more "productive" activities like tutoring, organized sports or piano lessons.

Indeed, time-use surveys conducted by the University of Michigan suggest that, since the early 1980s, the amount of time U.S. children devote to free play has dropped considerably -- in the case of outdoor play, by 50 per cent -- with a corresponding increase in organized sports, music lessons and studying.

"We have this culture of fear. Everybody wants their children to be a success story. And they think the best way to do that is to shove more information at them," said Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, director of the Infant Language Laboratory at Temple University in Philadelphia and an expert on play.

However, a growing body of research suggests that play is more than just fun and games -- that it serves a real purpose in children's social and intellectual development.

"A lot of what we learn in the sandbox and in free play actually builds the skills of working together and figuring out how to negotiate with one another," said Hirsh-Pasek. "Sometimes as adults we get so far away from their world, we forget how rich it can be."

...

Read the full article

Discuss play in our Forums

Merrick (N.Y.) Herald

The room was filled to capacity and many residents stood in the doorway at a recent South Merrick Community Civic Association meeting that was held to discuss proposed upgrades to Julian Lane Park.

Robert Ward, the district supervisor for the Town of Hempstead Department of Parks & Recreation, was invited to the meeting to answer residents' questions about the town park.

Jodi Turk, one of the chairs of the civic group's park committee, opened the meeting by expressing the community's concerns about the park. "I'm a mom like everyone else here, and I sit at the park and complain like we all do," Turk said. "The sandbox hasn't been cleaned in 30 years, there's glass in it [and] the playground isn't safe."

Turk and several other residents said they'd like two climbing structures, one for younger children and one for older children, to ensure that children play safely. Right now, there is one climbing structure for younger children.

Turk also pointed out that the fence was in disrepair, with holes with rusty metal. She and several residents were upset by an anti-Semitic symbol that they said hadn't been removed from the jungle gym since the summer.

"I'm going to get the JDL [Jewish Defense League] and Newsday down here if it's not cleaned up by this weekend," said Bill Vilkas. "There is no excuse; whatever it costs, it has to be taken off."

Visibly upset, Ward told Vilkas that he didn't know of the swastika and promised to have it removed immediately.

"Some other repairs need to be fixed now," Sarah Greenstein said. "How about if I go there with my tool box and send my bill to the town."

Ward suggested that she not do that, adding that certain issues could be dealt with now by the town -- those that presented dangerous conditions. "I can take care of the emergency repairs, like cleaning the sandbox and fixing the fence," Ward said. "But we can't make major changes without approval of town hall."

...

Read the full article

Discuss this article in the Forums

On Saturday, April 5, a new playground will be built in Macon, Ga. thanks to the efforts of KaBOOM!, the Junior League of Macon, the Bibb County Medical Society, NewTown Macon, lots of great donors and volunteers...and Dr. Frank B. Kelly, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon who has worked with virtually every aspect of his community's playground build. He's been involved in everything from volunteer recruitment to fundraising to construction to safety to spearheading the involvement of the Medical Society with his colleague, Dr. Seth Bush.

This is Dr. Kelly's sixth playground build with KaBOOM! He's built other playgrounds with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, which has built a playground in association with their annual meetings each year since 2000. Those builds inspired him to do a build in his hometown. This unique project has an interesting history. Read on for a Q&A with Dr. Kelly, where you can learn the story that led to this build.

How did your project get started?

Dr. Frank Kelly

When we got back home we had several organizational meetings between the Medical Society and the representatives from the Junior League, we decided on our budget, we identified key personnel to help and also started working to identify individuals, businesses, and foundations within our community which we thought would be supportive of our project. A logo for our playground was designed, and we were off and running.

Why is this new playspace particularly important to Macon? 
This playground will not only be the largest playground in our community, but it will be centrally located and easily accessible from all areas. In addition, it will be a central feature of a larger park...a park which will offer numerous outdoor activities, including bike trails, hiking trails, fishing, and access to water sports, such as canoeing on the Ocmulgee River – the Water Works Park will include two miles of river frontage – an incredibly beautiful piece of property.

Above all, the playspace is important because it will be an accessible playground – affording all the children of our community, even those with different abilities, an opportunity to experience the joys and benefits of play and physical activity. Before now, children with disabilities have had to go as far away as Atlanta (an hour and a half drive) to enjoy the experience of being with their friends on a playground. I think this playground will be a tremendous service to our community, and I think it is one of the very best things to happen to Macon in my lifetime.

What inspires you to continue building playgrounds?
Playground builds are such a lasting tribute to the community and afford our children the opportunities to enjoy the many benefits of play and physical activity. Being a medical doctor, I am well aware of the growing epidemic of childhood and juvenile obesity and also well aware that many of our children do not participate in physical activity as much as did those of other generations. Why not provide them with this opportunity?

And the special part about our project is the fact that we have gone to great efforts to make our playground accessible, so it can be enjoyed by all children. We will have a rubberized surface that is easily negotiated by wheelchairs. We will have wheelchair useable ramps to access the equipment. We will have special swings and other equipment that kids with disabilities might use.

We will probably have 250-300 participants on our Build Day and I look forward to seeing the energy that will be exhibited on that day!

ANKENY, Iowa -- On March 25, neighbors of Somersby Park were invited to cast a vote for their favorite park playground design. With three designs to choose from, over 50 votes were cast, including votes from a number of kids that had the opportunity to select what amenities will be in their new playground.

The three designs, provided by Boland Recreation, Inc., varied by the types of swings, slides, climbing walls and teeter totters, as well as the shape of the playground area. A company representative was also on hand during the voting to answer questions and explain how each piece of equipment worked.

The winning design features a large tower structure, a set of swings and unique equipment from the Xccent playground company called the Gyro and the X-Wave 2.

One young man, participating in the democratic process for the first time, cast his vote and then excitedly asked, “Can we go play there now?”

Playground voting is one way Ankeny engages its citizens in projects and activities and advances the city council’s goal to promote active lifestyles and community involvement. The process begins with a series of neighborhood meetings in which city staff work with residents to determine the types of amenities that will be included in the park and what the playground will look like. Staff then begins work with a design team in developing three different playground designs. Neighborhood residents are invited back a month or so later to vote on which one of the three designs they like best. The design with the most votes is the one that is installed in the park. All are eligible to vote – especially the kids, as they will be the primary users of the playground!

The winning playground will be installed in June as part of the initial development phase of the park. Other improvements include landscaping, a trail loop and the Fallen Soldier Memorial Plaza, in honor of an Ankeny soldier and resident of the Somersby neighborhood, recently killed in the war. The seven acre park will eventually grow to nearly 14 acres, through future land acquisition.

Ankeny was selected as one of 31 Playful City USA communities in the inaugural year of the national recognition program administered by the KaBOOM! National Campaign for Play. KaBOOM! is a national non-profit that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Applications for 2008 Playful City USA status can be downloaded at www.playfulcityusa.org and are due by May 15, 2008.

By Mayor Shirley Franklin
Appearing in the March 24th edition of Nation Cities Weekly
Published by the National League of Cities

In 2007, Atlanta was named an inaugural Playful City USA community by KaBOOM!, a national non-profit that empowers communities to build playgrounds. It wasn’t just because we worked hard on trails that link our parks and communities; it wasn’t just because we had thousands of great places for kids to play — it was also because of the efforts of the many Atlantans devoted to making our city the best city in which to raise children.

Our great city will always step up when it comes to creating a better life for our children. The tangible evidence of this spurred Cynthia Gentry, founder and chairperson of the Atlanta Taskforce on Play (ATOP). This public/private partnership applied to KaBOOM! for Playful City USA recognition and went on to receive a $25,000 grant to help train community leaders on how to build playgrounds so that there will be a playground near every child in Atlanta by the end of 2010. With hundreds of community leaders like Cynthia out there, all of Atlanta’s children will be healthier, happier and smarter because they have great places to play.

When the people of Atlanta elected me to be their mayor in 2001, I knew I had my work cut out for me. Atlanta was facing a multitude of problems. With a neglected infrastructure, struggling schools, and communities failing to address basic quality of life issues, I knew I needed to unite Atlantans to work together for big positive changes in order to establish the city as a beacon of progress, hope and opportunity. Experience has taught me that a government can’t do this on its own. I knew we needed to find people and empower them to make a difference.

Every community has a next-door neighbor like Cynthia who is willing to step up. Find yours. Everyone has the power to give back and make their community better. Get started! Every community has people who can organize projects and volunteer their time. Get yours moving. Create your own task force on play to work with your City and your Parks Department and do what you can to become a Playful City USA.

Details: Atlanta was selected as one of 31 Playful City USA communities in the inaugural year of the national recognition program administered by the KaBOOM! National Campaign for Play. KaBOOM! is a national non-profit that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Applications for 2008 Playful City USA status can be downloaded at www.playfulcityusa.org and are due by May 15, 2008.

Shirley Franklin is mayor of Atlanta.

Learn how to fundraise, build and advocate for great places to play in your community! Led by KaBOOM! presenters, KaBOOM! Workshops Entirely on Play are one-day, FREE regional trainings packed with interactive sessions, networking opportunities and first-hand success stories. From planning a playground project to involving your local government in the cause of play, WE Play! sessions give all participants the tools to take action.

This year, two workshop tracks will be available: one for playground builders and one for play advocates. The playground builders workshop sessions will focus on the nuts and bolts of the community-build process, from volunteer recruitment to fundraising. Play advocacy sessions will focus on specific ways you can advocate for play in your community, from auditing the safety and maintenance of playspaces in your area to making your city a Playful City USA.

Designed for parents, PTA leaders, teachers, community leaders, business professionals, parks and recreation departments, school districts, and individuals who want to make play a priority for their community, WE Play! will be coming to Washington, D.C.; Boston, Mass.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Chicago, Ill.; Houston, Texas; Cleveland, Ohio; New Orleans, La.; Denver, Colo.; Atlanta, Ga.; New York, N.Y.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and San Francisco, Calif. in 2008.

Most WE Play!s also allow participants to take part in a KaBOOM! playground Build Day the day following, where they can witness how 150 volunteers can transform an empty lot into a dream playground in six hours!

Learn more about WE Play!

A state bond commission enthusiastically supports play as a priority at a local school in this article.

Excerpt:

"We want to create outstanding learning environments and that includes providing facilities for exercise and sports," Rell said in a statement. "I am pleased that the state can help fund these improvements at Springdale Elementary School."

State Rep. Gerald Fox III, D-Stamford, who represents Springdale, said the money will give students a safe, state-of-the-art playground.

"It's a tremendous asset to the neighborhood and I'm very excited about it," Fox said in Rell's statement.

State Rep. James Shapiro, D-Stamford, said in the statement, "A philosopher once said that a sound mind in a sound body is a short but full description of a happy state in this world. I am extremely pleased to help Springdale students achieve that goal."

State Rep. Christel Truglia, D-Stamford, agreed.

"It is very important for our students to be able to excel inside and outside the classroom, but we need to give them the tools to do so," Truglia said in the statement.

Athletics and recreation "are just as crucial to the development of a child as the education that they will receive," said state Rep. Carlo Leone, D-Stamford. "I know that everyone involved in the eventual passage of this bond item recognizes its importance."

ODESSA, NY -- Children will have lots of choices at the Catharine Park Play Day on Saturday.

Presented by the Friends of Catharine Park in conjunction with the KaBOOM! Playful City, USA program, Play Day will be from 1 to 4 p.m. at the town of Catharine park on Grant Road, just outside Odessa.

The wide range of activities is designed for children in pre-school through fifth-grade. All are welcome, and it's free.

Among the activities: face painting, pumpkin decorating, games, crafts, scavenger hunt, storytelling, hay rides and a "ghoul walk."

The Odessa Fire Department, Schuyler Ambulance, Schuyler County Sheriff's Department and the DARE program will have displays.

Hernando wants to be known as a city that cares about its children -- a Playful City USA.

City officials voted Tuesday night to declare Sept. 29 as Hernando's annual Play Day, as a step toward perhaps gaining a Playful City designation.

Play Day, aimed at children under 13, will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Conger Park, which contains the city's biggest playground.

The city has applied to KaBOOM!, a national advocate of children's playgrounds, to become one of 30 cities to be named a Playful City USA.

RALLYing for a new BellaVistaPark in  Oakland, California

There are two ways to look at the situation in our local parks and playgrounds. Compared to 13 years ago, at the beginning of Rudy Giuliani’s mayoralty, our parks and playgrounds are in far, far better shape. A majority have undergone major renovation, and several more are slated for renovation in the next year or two. This is in large part due to the funding efforts of Tom Duane, when he was on the City Council, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Councilmember Alan Gerson.

We have seen major new park space added as a result of the construction of Hudson River Park, including the water playground at Pier 51 (at Horatio St.) and the green spaces at Pier 46 (Charles St.) and Pier 45 (Christopher St.). We have seen ball fields created first on top of Pier 40 and then in the Pier 40 courtyard, adding over 225,000 square feet of much-needed recreational space for thousands of children and teenagers, and even adults. J. J. Walker Park, which many remember as either a dusty or muddy clay pit, has been covered in FieldTurf, an artificial-grass surface.

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) has introduced legislation to help promote increased physical activity to kids, families and communities across the country. The Promoting Lifelong Active Youth (PLAY) Every Day Act, which is co-sponsored by Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), supports the development of a well-validated community assessment tool — known as a "community play index" — to measure the barriers in communities to youth participating in physical activity. The legislation also assists coalitions to craft plans to promote physical activity and wellness in communities.

Want more information about kids being active? Visit the Partnership for Play Every Day, a national partnership whose mission is to ensure all American youth have at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 15, 2007
Contact Information:
Krista Conger, Stanford University: (650) 725-5371
Jennifer Hoyer, NRPA: (703) 858-2160
Kelly Kennai, YMCA of the USA: (202) 835-9043
Paula Kun, NASPE: (703) 476-3461

PARTNERSHIP FOR PLAY CALLS ON NATION TO INCREASE
THE VOICES, SPACES AND QUALITY OF PLAY
Senator Harkin Proposes Community Play Bill; Recent Stanford Findings Highlight Barriers
To Physical Activity in Children

WASHINGTON, DC—The Partnership for Play Every Day, a newly-founded public-private-non-profit sector collaboration, calls on all sectors of our communities to work together toward a comprehensive, action oriented response to ensure all American children engage in at least 60 minutes of play every day.