FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington D.C. (February 27, 2006) · The Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) recognized KaBOOM! and The Home Depot with its Directors Award today for a high impact partnership that positively changes the lives of children and communities across North America. The CECP Directors Award recognizes a nonprofit organization that has distinguished itself by building an effective partnership with a corporation in its community. KaBOOM! and The Home Depot have worked together over the last 10 years to develop a community-build model that encourages civic leadership and revitalizes communities through creating great playspaces for children. The partnership has mobilized more than 40,000 volunteers to build or improve more than 500 community playgrounds, skateparks and sports fields across North America. KaBOOM! CEO and Co-Founder Darell Hammond and The Home Depot Chairman, President & CEO Bob Nardelli were on hand at the CECP Excellence Awards Luncheon in New York City to accept the award. “We are honored to receive this Excellence Award from the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy. This award is about more than just our ability to create positive change in the lives of children and communities, however. It is also a testament to the vision and generosity of one of America’s great companies, The Home Depot, its associates and its CEO, Bob Nardelli,” said Hammond. “With their incredible support, we can make our vision of a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America become a reality. I salute The Home Depot for its dedication and commitment and thank its associates on behalf of our board, employees and the thousands of children whose lives are filled with laughter and imagination,” Hammond added. In 2005, KaBOOM! and The Home Depot launched an unprecedented initiative to create and refurbish 1,000 playspaces in 1,000 days throughout North America. The Home Depot is investing $25 million and nearly 1 million volunteer hours in support of this three-year program, which is expected to benefit 1.5 million parents and children. “Having built and restored more than 400 playgrounds together with KaBOOM! over the past 10 years, we have seen firsthand how important playgrounds are to the development of our children and the communities,” said Nardelli. “Led by dedicated Team Depot volunteers, our 345,000 associates are committed to improving the areas in which we live and work.” The 2005 Excellence Awards Jury Selection Committee was composed of distinguished experts from the corporate, nonprofit, media and academic communities. “The common thread of this year’s award-winning applicants is CEO leadership,” said Charles Moore, executive director of CECP. “Employees at our winning companies, both corporate and nonprofit, have responded to the philanthropic mandate of their CEOs, who present an innovative vision of social awareness aligned with corporate America’s business needs and objectives.” In addition to the Excellence in Corporate Philanthropy Awards luncheon, several other celebratory events were held to mark National Corporate Philanthropy Day, including the ringing of the NYSE opening bell by the Excellence Award winners.
The Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) recognized KaBOOM! and The Home Depot with its Directors Award today for a high impact partnership that positively changes the lives of children and communities across North America. The CECP Directors Award recognizes a nonprofit organization that has distinguished itself by building an effective partnership with a corporation in its community. KaBOOM! and The Home Depot have worked together over the last 10 years to develop a community-build model that encourages civic leadership and revitalizes communities through creating great playspaces for children. The partnership has mobilized more than 40,000 volunteers to build or improve more than 500 community playgrounds, skateparks and sports fields across North America.
KaBOOM! CEO and Co-Founder Darell Hammond and The Home Depot Chairman, President & CEO Bob Nardelli were on hand at the CECP Excellence Awards Luncheon in New York City to accept the award. “We are honored to receive this Excellence Award from the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy. This award is about more than just our ability to create positive change in the lives of children and communities, however. It is also a testament to the vision and generosity of one of America’s great companies, The Home Depot, its associates and its CEO, Bob Nardelli,” said Hammond.
“With their incredible support, we can make our vision of a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America become a reality. I salute The Home Depot for its dedication and commitment and thank its associates on behalf of our board, employees and the thousands of children whose lives are filled with laughter and imagination,” Hammond added.
In 2005, KaBOOM! and The Home Depot launched an unprecedented initiative to create and refurbish 1,000 playspaces in 1,000 days throughout North America. The Home Depot is investing $25 million and nearly 1 million volunteer hours in support of this three-year program, which is expected to benefit 1.5 million parents and children.
“Having built and restored more than 400 playgrounds together with KaBOOM! over the past 10 years, we have seen firsthand how important playgrounds are to the development of our children and the communities,” said Nardelli. “Led by dedicated Team Depot volunteers, our 345,000 associates are committed to improving the areas in which we live and work.”
The 2005 Excellence Awards Jury Selection Committee was composed of distinguished experts from the corporate, nonprofit, media and academic communities.
“The common thread of this year’s award-winning applicants is CEO leadership,” said Charles Moore, executive director of CECP. “Employees at our winning companies, both corporate and nonprofit, have responded to the philanthropic mandate of their CEOs, who present an innovative vision of social awareness aligned with corporate America’s business needs and objectives.”
In addition to the Excellence in Corporate Philanthropy Awards luncheon, several other celebratory events were held to mark National Corporate Philanthropy Day, including the ringing of the NYSE opening bell by the Excellence Award winners.
About CECP
The Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) is the only national forum of business CEOs and Chairpersons with an agenda exclusively focused on corporate philanthropy. The Committee's mission is to raise the level and quality of strategic corporate giving nationally and globally by identifying, educating, promoting, and recognizing best practices and measurements of corporate philanthropy. CECP's members embrace and encourage other business leaders to promote the case for corporate philanthropy. For more information, visit corphilanthropy.org.
About KABOOM!KABOOM! is the national nonprofit committed to ending playspace inequity – the reality that quality places to play are not available to every child, especially in communities of color. Since 1996, KABOOM! has partnered with kids and communities to create or transform 17,000+ playspaces and ensure that nearly 12 million kids have equitable access to the crucial benefits and opportunities that playspaces offer. In 2022, KABOOM! launched the 25 in 5 Initiative to End Playspace Inequity, the $250 million plan to accelerate its mission in 25 high-priority locations over five years. Learn more at kaboom.org and join the conversation at twitter.com/kaboom, facebook.com/kaboom, instagram.com/kaboom and LinkedIn.