A national celebration for kids and communities
In October 2017, KABOOM! hosted a national celebration to spotlight the critical role of play for all kids across the country, while also building our 3,000th playground.
Building the 3,000th Playground
On October 18, 2017, local residents from Congress Heights in Washington D.C. joined KABOOM! and THEARC to build the 3,000th playground in KABOOM! history. It was an amazing day as partners from across the country, THEARC, families in the community and the entire KABOOM! staff came together to build this milestone playground in under six hours. This new playground will serve more than 36,500 kids in the community.
PLAYce for Kids Day
That weekend, on October 21, we celebrated the grand opening of the playground with PLAYce for Kids Day. The community festival-like celebration was kicked off by District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, who officially proclaimed the day annual PLAYce for Kids Day. The Washington Wizards hosted a basketball clinic, WKYS 93.9 DJs entertained the kids and plenty of other activities such as Zumba, face painting and the National Symphony Orchestra’s instrument petting zoo took place throughout the day. The highlight was the unveiling of the brand new, state-of-the-art playground.
PLAYce for Kids Across the US
Across the country, seven other communities hosted local PLAYce for Kids Day events to highlight the important role of play in all kids’ lives through events and social media campaigns, including: Missoula, MT; La Mesa, CA; Dothan, AL; Geneva, NY; Hernando, MS; Brownsville, TX; and, Detroit, MI. From a soapbox derby to a corn hole tournament, cities celebrated bringing play to all kids.
The nationwide events symbolize a renewed commitment to providing all kids with more opportunities to get the play they need to grow up happy, healthy and ready for life. Thank you to all community and funding partners, volunteers, city leaders and families across the country for your on-going support of our mission.
Designing our 3,000th playground
In preparation for the 3,000th playground build at THEARC in the Congress Heights area of Washington DC, kids put crayon to paper to draw their dream playground. Their ideas and elements from the drawings were incorporated into the final playground design.
Our Generous Partners
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- Bezos Family Foundation
- The Annie E. Casey Foundation
- Delta Air Lines
- The Siegal Family
- Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation
- Shaun T
- Kate Becker & Darell Hammond
- Playworld
- Shouse Village Sharks and Swim Team
- LA Sprout Fund
- Discover
