Social Entrepreneur Builds More Than 1,800 Playgrounds

For nearly 15 years, social entrepreneur Darell Hammond has found one American statistic inexcusable: well over half of children in this country don't have easy access to a community playground, he told to NPR.

So he formed KaBOOM!, an organization that goes into concrete wastelands - with a little volunteer help and contributions from partner organizations and local communities - to build places to play for kids who don't have any.

By building a playground a day with volunteer crews, KaBOOM! has finished more than 1800 playgrounds and Hammond hopes that other organizations will mimic his model. Playgrounds don't solve children's problems, but they should at least have access to one in their neighborhood, Hammond told NPR.

LISTEN:

Visit NPR.org to read the full story.

Comments

[powerhuff]

02:42 PM on 10/03/2010

DON'T TAKE YOUR KIDS TO THE PUBLIC PLAYGROUND, OK?

[katwright]

01:37 PM on 10/06/2010

Why not?

[nisperos]

11:49 PM on 10/02/2010

"...well over half of children in this country don't have easy access to a community playground..."

BUT, maybe more if you count the children who are near to a playground, but either can't or find it difficult to participate due to various impairments.

The KaBoom web site has this page on Accessibility: http://kaboom.org/build_playspace/toolkit/accessibility

(They also have discussion groups and other pages if you dig for them on the site - accessible with an extra search. Still, they are to be complimented because they go beyond mobility impairments to think about impairments of sensory disorders and autism spectrum disorders.)

Also consider a Shane's Inspiration Playground (universally Accessible - not just partially accessible): http://shanesinspiration.org/content/view/25/57/

Most of the Inspiration Playgrounds are in Southern California, although they have been built all over the world. The Inspiration Playground I like to tout is in Fort Collins Colorado (consideration was given to: blind/visually impaired, deaf/hearing impaired, wheelchairs/mobility devices, speech difficulties, learning disabilities, CP/neuro disorders, autism, sensory integration dysfunction, Down's & other syndromes, low muscle tone/weakness, stroke, mental retardation, psych/emotional difficulties): http://www.fcgov.com/aro/pdf/iplayground.pdf AND http://www.fcgov.com/aro/inspirationplayground.php AND (video) http://atlas.fcgov.com/InspirationPlayground/msh.htm

[bgofca]

01:34 PM on 10/01/2010

safe playgrounds, a great idea.