You know that kids need play to be healthy, happy, and active. Now is the time to do something about it. Join us for one of our FREE Workshops Entirely on Play (WE Play!) and learn how to become a Playmaker for the kids in your community. We have more than 10 trainings in 2008 happening across the country. In one day, you’ll learn how to create a ‘play taskforce,’ lobby for recreation funding, and transform your community into a Playful City USA. Click here to learn more and register.
Those Playmakers who invite three other friends or colleagues to ANY of the WE Play! trainings OR have a blurb about the WE Play! training published in their local paper will receive this incredible Play Toolkit! From fundraising to volunteer recruitment, the Toolkit can guide your project with over a decade's worth of knowledge, advice, and best practices in building playspaces.
Make sure your friends or colleagues note you as a referral in their registration application. E-mail bbennett@kaboom.org if you get an ad placement about WE Play! in your local paper!
Dear MJT -
Thank you for being such an incredible advocate for play! We need more of you out there. A couple of ideas that have proved tried and true by some of our Playmakers to garner more attention are the following:
Recruit like minded individuals around you so that there are more voices to promote the importance of having safe and healthy places to play. Creating a neighborhood committee or task force can help you further your efforts.
If you haven’t already a great first step in getting attention towards playspaces in your area is assessing what you have. You may have already been to our Play Space Finder, but if not, it serves as a directory of playspaces across the country or lack thereof. This would also be a great action for your committee to take so that you have tangible evidence of the type of playspaces in your community and can thus draw attention to your cause.
Hosting a Play Day at your new playground and inviting media and elected officials to this event will help to increase awareness. By having it at your playspace site you can better leverage the need for more such playspaces. You mentioned in your profile that although good to have, the amount of equipment on the playspace in comparison to the number of children using it is by no means proportionate. Click here for a step by step guide to creating a Play Day.
Although the deadline for the 2008 Playful CityUSA program has passed, it's never too early to start building your network of advocates to apply for the program in 2009. Playful CityUSA is a wonderful platform to garner awareness around the importance of unstructured play. It has successfully gained the support of municipal leaders across the country.
I would be happy to speak with you more about your efforts and how we might be able to help. Please feel free to e-mail me at bbennett@kaboom.org
Brooke Bennett
National Advocacy Manager
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