Do the kids in your community need great places to play?  If your answer is YES, then sign up for one of our FREE Workshops Entirely on Play (WE Play!). 

At select WE Play! events sponsored by Kool-Aid, (Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston and Cleveland), applications will be available for five $7,500 grants toward building a playground in their community!  Only WE Play! attendees are eligible to apply.

At WE Play!, you’ll learn how to plan, fund, and complete a community-build playground project AND advocate for more play in your community. 

With the generous support of our partners Kool-Aid and The Home Depot, we've got FREE trainings scheduled across the country including Charlotte (May 13), Chicago (May 16) Los Angeles (June 5), Houston (July 10) and New Orleans (July 25) in the coming months. Get started on the path toward building a great playground today!

Kids help raise funds for playground
San Carlos children holding joint birthday party for Burton Park

By Mark Abramson, San Mateo County (Calif.) Times

April 27, 2008

Two San Carlos children are holding a joint birthday bash Sunday to help raise funds for a new playground in Burton Park.

Chase Wienckowski and Natalie Williams, along with 30 of their friends, will set up lemonade stands during their 11th birthday party in the park. They plan on holding a competition to see which stand can sell the most lemonade and raise the most money for the playground.

"They wanted to help," San Carlos Parks and Recreation Director Barry Weiss said. "We are getting close."

About $76,000 is still needed for the new playground, Weiss said. The city has contributed $415,000 for the $850,000 project, another $253,000 has been raised by selling naming rights to parts of the future playground and an additional $106,000 has been collected.

...

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Dance, auction boost Stratham playground plan

Monday, April 21, 2008
Foster’s (N.H.) Daily Democrat

PORTSMOUTH — Stratham residents and town officials brought out Afro wigs, fake handlebar mustaches, pastel dresses and knee-length stockings for the second Dancing with the Stratham Stars fundraiser Saturday night in the Sheraton Harborside hotel ballroom.

The event, put on by the Stratham Playground Committee and Stratham Recreation Commission, featured disco dancing, a silent auction and a raffle, with proceeds going to the second phase of construction for a children's playground at Stevens Park.

Claire Ellis, a mother of four and a member of the playground committee, led the ceremonies Saturday night. She said the group was hoping to raise $15,000 to cover the costs of adding a large playstructure maze to the existing playground.

...

Saturday's disco-themed event featured a collaborative "hustle" dance by town officials, including Recreation Department Director Tara Barker, the Rev. David Dodge of the Stratham Community Center, Assistant Fire Chief David Emanuel and Selectmen Kirk Scammon. Auction items on display included jewelry, handbags, sports memorabilia, artwork by local artists, pottery and gift certificates to local restaurants.

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Discuss fundraising in our Forums

Don't miss out: The KaBOOM!/The Home Depot Grant applications are due Tuesday, April 15!

KaBOOM! and The Home Depot have once again partnered to offer $4500 grants to communities building playgrounds by June 1, 2008. Forty grants are available. All playgrounds must be built by June 1, 2008 and must follow the KaBOOM! Community-Build Model. Download the application form here. Applications are due April 15th.

Check out the new "Community Involvement" section of the KaBOOM! online Toolkit, where you can learn how to find great resources in your community for volunteers, fundraising, tool donation, and more!

"Community Involvement" complements all the other Toolkit sections by guiding you through the Asset-Based Community Development process, which helps you and your planning team identify people, associations, institutions and businesses in your community that can help with your playground project.

Share your wisdom with others! If your team comes up with a great idea for an individual, association, business or institution that can help with your playspace project, you can add it to the "Community Involvement" lists of individuals, associations, businesses and institutions to seek out. Each of these sections of the Toolkit can be edited or added to by anyone!

Read the "Community Involvement" section of the online Toolkit.

Update: Note date change

KaBOOM! and The Home Depot have once again partnered to offer $4500 grants to communities building playgrounds by June 1, 2008. Forty grants are available and will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis. Applications must be received by April 15, 2008, playgrounds must be built by June 1, 2008, and must follow the KaBOOM! Community-Build Model. Download the application form here.

Grantees awarded the grant must complete the following:

• Register their project in the KaBOOM! Project Planner as part of the application process
• Create a local project website within 30 days of receiving notification of the grant award, and update the local website through the course of the project
• Create records for at least 10 playspaces in their community in the KaBOOM! Playspace Finder
• Post at least three messages on the KaBOOM! Web Portal Online Forums
• Register 5 Playmakers
• Agree to complete a Vendor Rating System record on the KaBOOM! website upon completion of the project.

Nashua Telegraph

Excerpts:

HUDSON – In the cafeteria at Alvirne High School on Saturday night, Bill "Tank" Emmons was putting on his game face.

"The cops are taking no prisoners tonight," said Emmons – an officer with the Hudson Police Department – brimming with confidence.

"You're going down!" yelled one of the members of the Hudson Fire Department's team. But Emmons was already in the zone, and the comment didn't faze him.

Emmons and his teammates from the police department were preparing for a grueling set of seven events that would put the mind, body and spirit to the ultimate test.

OK, not exactly.

...

All of the schools in Hudson were represented, as was the police department, fire department and recreation department.

Jeremy Griffus, who works in the student support program at Hills Garrison, emceed the event.

Wearing a long, red topcoat, Griffus announced the teams as they made their entrance into the gym. The police department team came out to the tune of "Bad Boys," the theme song from COPS.

Before the games began, local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts troops from Hudson presented the American flag, and 10-year-old Victoria Whalen, a fifth-grade student at Hills Garrison, sang the national anthem.

...

Sunday, Griffus said they were able to raise a little more than $3,500 for the playground fund.

Griffus said the playground is in need of expansion to meet the needs of students of all ages at the school.

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Talk about other fundraising ideas in our Forums!

The U.S. Department of Education has released the 2008 Physical Education for Progress (PEP) Grant application. This program provides grants to initiate, expand, and improve physical education programs for K-12 students in order to help them make progress toward meeting state standards for physical education.

Funds may be used to provide equipment and support to enable students to participate actively in physical education activities. Funds also may support staff and teacher training and education.

Peaceful Playgrounds provides grant writing assistance for PEP Grants. They have supported numerous districts in the writing of successful PEP Grants over the past eight years.

by Ashley Wilson

ASHEVILLE – Seth Olson was always playing. As remembered by students, teachers and parents at Isaac Dickson Elementary, the 22-year-old kindergarten teacher had the heart and soul of a child, and he could frequently be seen traveling the school’s hallways with small children hanging from his limbs.

More than two years ago, Olson died suddenly in his sleep of a heart virus. The school community has since raised more than $75,000 to build Seth’s Playground at the school in his honor. Last weekend, 20 parents and teachers joined in the construction of the playground, which will be ready for children in about two weeks.

“I just think it’s fitting for someone who loved to play as much as he did,” said Susan Shillcock, Olson’s mom, who also teaches at Isaac Dickson Elementary. “The last time we were together at the school was playing on the kids’ playground.”

Complete with a climbing wall, swings, slide and large playing field, the new playground will finally give students in kindergarten through second grade their own place to play, instead of sharing space with the older kids.

Can you imagine collaborating with friends and neighbors to build your community a new place to play? Can you imagine a new playspace materializing in just one day?  If so, a KaBOOM! playspace project may be the perfect opportunity for you!

Thanks to the generosity of our many corporate partners, KaBOOM! has ongoing opportunities for community organizations to build a new playground or skatepark.

We are currently doing outreach to locate potential community partners in cities and towns across North America to create playspaces with KaBOOM! and our corporate partners in 2008. Ideal community partners are usually child-serving nonprofit organizations, but can be community development organizations, neighborhood coalitions, schools or any organization that can mobilize a volunteer force and is in need of a new placespace!

Check out the list of 2008 playground opportunity cities!

KaBOOM! and The Home Depot have once again partnered to offer $4500 grants to communities building playgrounds by April 15, 2008. Forty grants are available and will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis. All playgrounds must be built by April 15, 2008 and must follow the KaBOOM! Community-Build Model. Download the application form here.

Grantees awarded the grant must complete the following:

• Register their project in the KaBOOM! Project Planner as part of the application process
• Create a local project website within 30 days of receiving notification of the grant award, and update the local website through the course of the project 
• Create records for at least 10 playspaces in their community in the KaBOOM! Playspace Finder 
• Post at least three messages on the KaBOOM! Web Portal Online Forums 
• Register 5 Playmakers 
• Agree to complete a Vendor Rating System record on the KaBOOM! website upon completion of the project.

DEALE, MD - The Deale business community has rallied 'round to help Deale Elementary School get a new playground, but the playground committee still needs just $2,000 more to start the project.
A recent mass mailing to area business brought in a slew of donations, ranging from $50 to $1,000.

The students have already raised $14,000 on their own, including the last few thousand through an enthusiastic penny drive, but they are still $2,000 shy of the $16,000 needed to design, resurface and equip a badly needed new playground.

"The efforts of Deale children emptying out their piggybanks has yielded the same amount as the businesses so far," said Marianne Rude of the playground committee.

RAVENNA, OH - One year ago, elementary school students in Ravenna met with an architectural firm and designed their ultimate dream playground.

That dream, nurtured by the non-profit organization, Friends of the Park, will soon be a reality with plans to open the playground June 16.

Beginning June 9, the park will be constructed in a seven-day building bonanza with the assistance of an all-volunteer community effort.

"It's the only park of its kind in Portage County," said Amy Michael, Friends of the Park co-founder. "It will bring people here."

Included in the plans for the playground, from the imaginations of elementary school children, are a castle, a play beauty shop and a bridge separating the two. Also slated for construction are a rock-climbing wall, a rocket ship, a hot-air balloon and play telephones.

The park is currently referred to as "Portage County Community-Built Playground," but naming rights will be offered to the donor who gives the largest donation.

With a projected price tag of more than $200,000, Michael said the project is a complete volunteer effort.
"We'll need 2,000 hands," she said. "This takes us back to the value of teamwork."

Is your community in need of a playground? Do you know of an organization that is in need of a playground? Do you have dreams of helping design your own playground?

KaBOOM! might be able to help. There are a limited number of these oppotunities so we can't help everyone finanically, but if you are in one of the cities listed after the link we might be able to help you.

KaBOOM! brings together parents, community leaders and corporate partners to facilitate the group planning and design of new community playspaces. Our goal is to not only build a new playspace but also to use the project to strengthen existing support networks and to build new relationships within the community.  The approximate 10 week planning process kicks off with a Design Day where the children literally design their dream playgrounds, and culminates on Build Day where volunteers build the new playground in about six hours.  The day begins with an empty lot and ends with a new, colorful and safe playground for children and families alike to enjoy and congregate. 

Read more....

WASILLA, AK -- A new playground going up in Talkeetna this summer will feature the usual playground fare -- swings and slides and monkey bars.

It will also feature items symbolic of the town itself: a grizzly bear tunnel, a bush plane, a climbing wall, even a Volkswagen bus.

"It's just part of Talkeetna's hippie culture, I guess -- a lot of granola crunchers around here," said playground project volunteer Karey Larson.

The children of those granola crunchers and their fellow Talkeetna townsfolk led the design of the playground, under the direction of John Dean, a designer with Leathers and Associates, a company out of Ithaca, N.Y., that specializes in community-built playgrounds.

MONTCLAIR, NJ - On the Spinal Tap scale of 1 to 10, Alma Schneider’s commitment to get a special playground built is “11.”

Schneider is the founder of Parents Who Rock, a wide-ranging organization inspiring Montclair dads and moms to excavate their closeted electric guitars and shoebox-entombed microphones and again take the stage.

She’s leading many PWR members to participate in fundraising efforts to construct a universal playground in Edgemont Memorial Park that will enable children and adults who have physical limitations to have fun alongside non-disabled kids and grownups.

As envisioned, the playground will cost approximately $350,000, of which $200,000 in public funding is available. Parents Who Rock is in the forefront of a Montclair-and-beyond effort to raise $150,000 in donations to get the outdoor facility built.

GREENSBURG, PA - Mike Olbeter said he believes an improved Coulter Playground in Greensburg will attract more children and discourage vandalism and other unwanted activity there.

"It's a good neighborhood, and a lot of kids are growing up there," Olbeter said.

A meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Jan. 26 at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art for residents who live near the playground. They will discuss what to do with a $10,000 KaBOOM grant that was awarded to make improvements at the playground in the city's 1st Ward, said organizer Steve Gifford, executive director of Greensburg Community Development Corp.

Gifford said the playground was discussed with neighbors during August meetings of My Neighborhood Program. That state program, known as the Elm Street Program, aims at enhancing areas near city downtown areas.

"One of the things they said they really wanted was improvements to the playground," Gifford said.

FARMINGTON, ME - A trust fund set up by the late Farmington attorney Peter Mills, to be used for improvements and repairs at the Hippach Athletic Field, will donate $4,500 toward a new playground at the park, it was announced Friday.

The donation from the Hippach Field Trust Fund brings the amount raised by Parents for the Playground to $28,735.

Another $4,300 is still needed to purchase and install the playground structure. If swings are included, the total needed rises to $6,300.

Spokeswoman Amy Graham said Friday she is optimistic that the remaining amount will be raised with the help of area businesses and individuals.

"We will definitely build something, probably in June, even if we have to scale back," she said.

DENVER, CO - Money won't be an issue for a high school civics class trying to bring a playground back to the Perk Hill Coffee House.

The nonprofit that owns and produces the annual Colorado Garden and Home Show is giving the students a $10,000 grant to get the project off the ground.

"We love the idea that we do the show and it avails our opportunities to provide these horticulture scholarships and grants," said Jim Fricke, executive director of Colorado Garden Show Inc.

The grant is contingent on the city of Denver making it possible for the popular playground to be re-installed, Fricke said.

"If we take money out as an issue, then the kids can still continue to do their civic duty to try to make it happen, and the city of Denver can take a look at it and not have to worry about the financial aspects," he said.

The list of cities where KaBOOM! has funding opportunities for playspaces has changed recently.

Community Partners are organizations interested in providing safe places for children to play. We work with a myriad of types of organizations, including non-profits, schools, parks, municipalities, neighborhood associations, and other youth-serving organizations. Each Community Partner for KaBOOM! projects must have access to a good location for a playground and bring the energy and enthusiasm needed to plan, fundraise, and actually build the playground.

Think you have a good project for this opportunity? Click here and see if your city is on the list.

WAHPETON, ND - Central and Zimmerman elementary schools in Wahpeton are still waiting for new playground equipment. However funds continue to come in to help toward the Playground Improvement Group's goal of $70,000 by August 2008. Currently, the project has brought in just over $30,000 through fundraising events, business and service organization donations, families of students and students themselves. More than 15 sources have contributed to the project so far.

Although a total of $30,034 has been raised for the project since January 2006, only $25,700 sits in the project's account due to a few items that were already purchased for the two playgrounds. Handicapped access swings were purchased for both elementary schools and the student council purchased a Huskie bench. Also, a new teacup spinner, similar to a smaller sized merry-go-round, has recently been added to the playground at Zimmerman Elementary. The six foot spinner accommodates up to six children at a time, and Elaine Klocke, Playground Improvement Steering Committee member, said the children were all excited about the new addition.

"I don't know if all the kids got rides," she said. "The lines were so long."Now that a few smaller additions have been taken care of, Klocke said they are pushing to get the $70,000 by the end of summer 2008.

STRATHAM, NH - While looking at a sort of nothing article announcing some fundraising efforts for the Stratham Playground at Stevens Park in Stratham, NH, I found an interesting blog. It's a simple thing, created from a standard template on a free "blog" system, but it's a nice looking site.

http://www.strathamplayground.blogspot.com/

They've got the details of their fundraising, including scanned advertising materials. There might be some hints for other communities here.

Here are some other nice web sites that people have created on the KaBOOM! site:

• Broadmoor in New Orleans
• Hailey's Wish of Westminster, MD
• Willett Playground Project of Attleboro, MA
• The St. Stephen's Elementary Playground Project in Halifax, NS
• CC Meneley Elementary School's Slide Into Spring effort in Gardnerville, NV

EMPORIA, KS - One child’s dream of having a massive playhouse could come true this holiday season.

Williams Automotive, Sutherland’s, Countrywide Home Loans, Bill Redeker Construction and Deputy Police Chief Mike Williams teamed up to build the ultimate playhouse to be raffled off. Tickets will go on sale tonight at the Emporia Christmas Parade.

For $5 a ticket, with donations going to the Peter Pan Playground Fund, the playhouse will be going home with someone. The playhouse is eight feet high inside, 11 feet high outside and 12 feet long with a front porch and a shingled roof.

Mike Williams said he hopes the playhouse’s appearance in the parade will generate some interest in it.

“In the end we’ll be able to get enough out of it to make a substantial donation to the playground at Peter Pan Park,” Williams said as he nailed shutters on the playhouse Monday afternoon.

AMHERSTBURG, ON -- The Rotary Inclusive Playground Project continues to move forward with construction tentatively scheduled to begin in Spring 2008. The Playground Committee continues to plan for fundraisers throughout the winter months. On November 30, 2007 we will be participating in the “PA Day Fun “at the Amherstburg Area. Children will be able to take part in public skating and other fun events with part of the proceeds to go to support the playground project.

On Dec. 1 and 2 Meadows by the Lake (9278 County Rd. #41) will be hosting a couple of fundraisers to support the project. On Saturday night December 1st “WhaddaKnight DJ” Reg Minor along with live entertainment will be featured and on December 2 from 4-8pm there will be an All-U-Can Eat Buffet, with part of the proceeds from both events to benefit the playground.

In the new year we will also be moving forward with a couple of additional fundraisers.

GAUTIER, MS -- The chilly weather didn't stop Martin Bluff Elementary students from enjoying the official opening of their new playground Tuesday morning.

About 30 screaming, laughing children scrambled onto the playground after the 9 a.m. ribbon cutting ceremony for a new $25,000 playground donated by the BP Pascagoula gas processing plant.

After some students played for a few minutes, all 469 students who were gathered outside paused to yell "Thank you" to BP. The new play area has stairways, tunnels and two slides that were available for all students that afternoon during their normal recess time.

Martin Bluff's playground still has the 16 swings and an old wooden fort from when the school was built seven years ago.

Tracy Walker, president of the school's parent teacher association, said the school applied for a KaBOOM! playground in August 2006, but that plan fell through.

BP "stepped up and said they wanted to be involved in the community," Walker said.

DOVER, OH - Two members of a Dover citizens committee working with the Park Board to build a state-of-the-art playground at Dover City Park revealed their recent fundraising efforts to Dover City Council Monday night.

Beth Aljancic and Jody Niklaus, who describe themselves as “two moms who decided that we needed a park and a playground,” are selling holiday yard art to help raise money for the project.

Their committee, known as Building a Dream, Dover City Playground Project, was formed in April and has raised $4,000 so far. Their goal is $325,000 to replace playground equipment with new age-appropriate and handicap accessible equipment over a rubbery, maintenance-free surface.

TUSCALOOSA, AL - In the middle of the ice storm of 1993, Verner Elementary school teachers, parents and community members got together in the freezing cold and built what they thought would be a playground that would last for generations.

They called it the field of dreams.

It had turrets. It had swinging bridges, a tire swing and multiple slides.

But over the last 15 years, the large, wooden playground deteriorated, with loose, rusty nails barely holding together weathered, splintered pieces of wood.

On Monday and Tuesday, the playground was torn down, much to the dismay of some students.

“They were totally devastated,” said Verner second-grade teacher Elizabeth Welch, who brought her students to watch the construction equipment at work.

Verner Principal Beth Curtis had to get on the intercom to reassure the children that even though the playground was being demolished, it would not be the end of their play space.

WHITE LAKE, MI - When the bell rings at 12:15 p.m. at Oxbow Community School, a mob of fourth- and fifth-graders slam through the doors onto the playground for recess.

They race to the best swings, compete for the best soccer ball and scream like they're at a rock concert.
 
Recently, the school got something it's deserved for a long time — a brand new playground structure to replace equipment that came with the school 35 years ago when it opened.

The structure was donated by Laborers' Local 1076 and Employers Cooperation and Education Trust (LECET), an organization that gives back to the community. The LECET program was founded 10 years ago to demonstrate how cooperative efforts between union contractors and union labor could positively impact a community.

KEARNEY, MO - Fifth-grader Andrew Shepherd smiles when he talks about the new playground at Kearney Elementary School. It has a rock wall and three slides — equipment that fits little kids and big kids alike.

“The first day, everybody wanted to play,” Andrew said. “They were pushing their way through.”

The former playground, which had been in place since the 1970s, was designed for younger children.

“There was nothing for the bigger kids to play on,” said Carol Taylor, a mother of a Kearney Elementary first-grader.

In addition to the new playground, Kearney Girl Scout Troop 3101and the AT&T Pioneers, the volunteer arm of AT&T, painted a new foursquare box and a map of the United States on the ground.

COSTA MESA, CA - The Costa Mesa City Council has approved the construction of the city’s first playground for the disabled. The $1.4-million project at TeWinkle Park will be funded through a grant from the state Parks and Recreation Department and private fundraising by the Angels Charity nonprofit.

Costa Mesa will also contribute approximately $200,000 to the project, said Doug Hansen, who founded Angels Charity with his wife, Jennifer, in 2003.

FT. WAYNE, IN - Fueled with the volunteer staples of coffee and donuts, about a dozen people arrived at Waynedale Elementary School early Saturday to assemble and install playground equipment.

While most of the neighborhood seemed to drowse through the quiet weekend morning, workers on the playground stood beside a looming mound of wood chips that was destined to cushion students who will climb on, dangle from and slide down the new equipment.

In the school’s gym, however, that equipment was still in pieces, though placed in neat piles, as volunteers undertook the daunting task of the “some assembly required” project.