When: Saturday, June 14

Where: Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Park in Bay St. Louis, Miss.

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View photos from the first 100 builds

It’s official! The 100th Operation Playground project will take place on Saturday, June 14 at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Park in Bay St. Louis, fulfilling a commitment we made to build 100 playgrounds in the areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The project will kick off with a Design Day on Apr. 28. Our partners for this special build are the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Fannie Mae, the Foundation for the MidSouth, the Hancock Housing Resource Center and the City of Bay St. Louis. [Read more]

Design Day kicks off 100th Operation Playground project

View photos from Design Day

The 100th Operation Playground project got off to a great start with a Design Day on Apr. 28 in Bay St. Louis, Miss. More than 25 playground experts ages three to 16 eagerly put crayon to paper to share their ideas for the new playground to be built at Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial Park. The children’s drawings, along with input from parents and other community members, will be used to create the final playground design.

Following the children’s portion, more than 30 adults from the community met to learn about the KaBOOM! planning process and sign up for committees responsible for construction, food, safety, youth involvement, and volunteer recruitment. The enthusiastic group also established the planning committee’s weekly meeting time and created their own ‘wish list’ of items for the new playground to be constructed on June 14.

Partners for this special build are the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Fannie Mae, the Foundation for the Mid South, the Hancock Housing Resource Center and the City of Bay St. Louis. [Read more]

This new playground’s design is based on drawings provided by children who attended a Design Day event in February, and will provide more than 300 children in the community a safe place to play. Currently, there are no public playgrounds near the site.

This playground marks the first of more than 15 playspaces to be built by KaBOOM!, the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and Fannie Mae in 2008. The Gulf Coast Community Foundation is the administrator of the Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund, which was established by the governor immediately following Hurricane Katrina. Fannie Mae began its partnership with KaBOOM! in 2007, and together we built eight playspaces in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. [Read more]

Volunteer blogs about Operation Playground Build Experience

"Call me naïve, call me ignorant, but I grew up in suburbs, and for the first 23 years of my life I never thought twice about the fact that the elementary school I attended in Atlanta (and the two my brothers attended in Connecticut) had playgrounds. They were simply always there—taxpayer-funded I’d imagine—and if something is always there one tends to take it for granted until one learns better. I learned better when I recently volunteered at a KaBOOM! build in New Orleans..." [Read more]

KaBOOM! salutes outstanding New Orleans volunteer Linda Prout
On Saturday, March 8, New Orleans resident Linda Prout participated in her 16th Operation Playground project in the city! Linda's first build was in September, 2006, at the International School and she has been a dedicated volunteer ever since. A teacher for 25 years, Linda says she appreciates the value of play and loves seeing the playgrounds where she worked filled with joyful playing children. Her favorite Build Day moment? Last year during Mardi Gras when the King of Zulu came and spoke at the build at McDonogh 32, his former elementary school. The reaction of the children and volunteers was something she'll never forget!

KaBOOM! salutes Linda Prout for her incredible dedication to our cause. Our work would not be possible without amazing volunteers like her! Learn more about Linda.