FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, DC (April 22, 2019) · The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, the City of Detroit, The Skillman Foundation, General Motors and the Quicken Loans Community Fund will join KaBOOM! for the second time to build a playground and help ensure all kids have a safe place to play. The new playground will help make play the easy choice for kids and families in Detroit to enjoy, an area that has experienced years of disinvestment – particularly in communities of color – that has led to inequitable access to play. The group first partnered in Detroit’s Cody Rouge neighborhood to build a playground last year in Stein Park, which brought together hundreds of volunteers from the community and partner organizations. The Stein Park project introduced a playground, and also an innovative, challenging adventure course, designed to meet the needs of older kids – helping them to continue to discover, explore and collaborate through play. Based on that positive community impact, the partners are working together again as part of a continued effort to address the unmet need for more equitable and safe playspaces for kids in the Detroit area. This project is part of a broader, collective effort to help redevelop neighborhoods across Detroit through creating more kid-centric spaces for families. The playground will be built in August. The project begins with Design Day in May, where kids from the community surrounding Palmer Park will come together to draw their dream playground. The final playground design will be based on their drawings and will provide a community with more than 1,000 kids with a great, safe place to play. “We are excited to once again partner with KaBOOM! and these local leaders to bring safe play areas to kids in their neighborhoods,” said James Boyle, Vice President of Programs and Communications at the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. “Every child deserves access to equitable, safe and creative play spaces. It’s important that we meet them where they are.” “Play is not a luxury, but an essential part of childhood that helps all grow up happy, healthy and resilient. We know that many kids across Detroit aren’t getting the play they need to thrive,” said James Siegal, CEO of KaBOOM!. “We are thrilled to partner with these local leaders to ensure that the kids who are often overlooked have the opportunity to reach their full potential. We are grateful to the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation and our partners for opening the doors for all kids to have the childhood they deserve through play.” This is the sixth playground to be built as part of a broader effort led by the Built to Play Initiative, sponsored by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, that is to give kids more opportunities for free play through the construction of over 40 innovative play spaces and 20 skateparks in Western New York and Southeast Michigan; and KaBOOM!’s second project with The Skillman Foundation, General Motors and the Quicken Loans Community Fund. Contact: KaBOOM!: Tamara Grider | 202-464-6196 | [email protected] Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation: Carly Strachan | 313-885-1895 | [email protected]
The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, the City of Detroit, The Skillman Foundation, General Motors and the Quicken Loans Community Fund will join KaBOOM! for the second time to build a playground and help ensure all kids have a safe place to play. The new playground will help make play the easy choice for kids and families in Detroit to enjoy, an area that has experienced years of disinvestment – particularly in communities of color – that has led to inequitable access to play.
The group first partnered in Detroit’s Cody Rouge neighborhood to build a playground last year in Stein Park, which brought together hundreds of volunteers from the community and partner organizations. The Stein Park project introduced a playground, and also an innovative, challenging adventure course, designed to meet the needs of older kids – helping them to continue to discover, explore and collaborate through play. Based on that positive community impact, the partners are working together again as part of a continued effort to address the unmet need for more equitable and safe playspaces for kids in the Detroit area. This project is part of a broader, collective effort to help redevelop neighborhoods across Detroit through creating more kid-centric spaces for families.
The playground will be built in August. The project begins with Design Day in May, where kids from the community surrounding Palmer Park will come together to draw their dream playground. The final playground design will be based on their drawings and will provide a community with more than 1,000 kids with a great, safe place to play.
“We are excited to once again partner with KaBOOM! and these local leaders to bring safe play areas to kids in their neighborhoods,” said James Boyle, Vice President of Programs and Communications at the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. “Every child deserves access to equitable, safe and creative play spaces. It’s important that we meet them where they are.”
“Play is not a luxury, but an essential part of childhood that helps all grow up happy, healthy and resilient. We know that many kids across Detroit aren’t getting the play they need to thrive,” said James Siegal, CEO of KaBOOM!. “We are thrilled to partner with these local leaders to ensure that the kids who are often overlooked have the opportunity to reach their full potential. We are grateful to the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation and our partners for opening the doors for all kids to have the childhood they deserve through play.”
This is the sixth playground to be built as part of a broader effort led by the Built to Play Initiative, sponsored by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, that is to give kids more opportunities for free play through the construction of over 40 innovative play spaces and 20 skateparks in Western New York and Southeast Michigan; and KaBOOM!’s second project with The Skillman Foundation, General Motors and the Quicken Loans Community Fund.
Contact:
KaBOOM!: Tamara Grider | 202-464-6196 | [email protected]
Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation: Carly Strachan | 313-885-1895 | [email protected]
About the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation is a grantmaking organization dedicated primarily to sustained investment in the quality of life of the people of Southeast Michigan and Western New York. The two areas reflect Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.'s devotion to his hometown of Detroit and greater Buffalo, home of his Buffalo Bills franchise. Prior to his passing in 2014, Mr. Wilson requested that a significant share of his estate be used to continue a life-long generosity of spirit by funding the Foundation that bears his name. The Foundation has a grantmaking capacity of $1.2 billion over a 20-year period, which expires January 8, 2035. This structure is consistent with Mr. Wilson's desire for the Foundation’s impact to be immediate, substantial, measurable and overseen by those who knew him best. For more information visit www.rcwjrf.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.