Today’s children spend less time playing outside than any previous generation, but 213 cities and towns, including Raleigh, earned recognition from national non-profit KaBOOM! as 2012 Playful City USA communities for their efforts to increase play opportunities for children.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, play is critical to healthy brain development. It allows children to use their creativity while simultaneously developing imagination, dexterity and physical, cognitive and emotional strength. Yet today’s children spend less time playing outside than any previous generation in part because only 1-in-5 live within walking distance of a park or playground. The resulting play deficit is having profound consequences for kids physically, socially and academically.
Presented by The Humana Foundation, Playful City USA is a national program advocating for local policies that increase play opportunities for children and is a key platform in combating the play deficit.
“Raleigh is extremely fortunate to have acres and acres of open space and parks that encourage our children to play and grow physically, socially and mentally strong,” Mayor Nancy McFarlane said when told of Raleigh being named a 2012 Playful City USA community. “The City’s Parks and Recreation staff also offers a broad range of structured recreational activities that further encourage this development.”
“Some of the most innovative concepts and cost-effective programs are being developed in Playful City USA communities ,” says Darell Hammond, Founder and CEO of KaBOOM! and author of The New York Times Best Seller KaBOOM!: How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play . “Cities like Raleigh are key allies in the fight to combat the play deficit and serve as outstanding role models for government and community leaders across the country.”
Each of the 2012 Playful City USA communities demonstrated creative commitments to addressing the play deficit. Playful City USA celebrates and highlights these unique initiatives developed by communities across the country. A primary goal of Playful City USA is to encourage cities and towns to share ideas, concepts and programs in an effort to increase play opportunities for children.
KaBOOM! selected Raleigh for its outstanding dedication to play. Raleigh is actively involved in the PlaySmart program, a mobile educational safety program for children. Play equipment, including mock city environments, obstacle courses and play houses, are transported to 11 community centers around the city to reach children in a variety of neighborhoods.
For more information on the KaBOOM! Playful City USA program, visit www.playfulcityusa.org .
About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to saving play. Children today spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation, a fact that is having disastrous consequences on their health, achievement levels, and overall well-being. To fight this play deficit, social entrepreneur Darell Hammond founded non-profit KaBOOM! in 1996 in Washington, D.C. with a vision of creating a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since then, KaBOOM! has mapped over 89,000 places to play, built more than 2,000 playgrounds, and successfully advocated for play policies in hundreds of cities across the country. KaBOOM! also provides communities with online tools to self-organize and take action to support play on both a local and national level. Hammond chronicles the founding of the organization and the importance of the cause of play in his The New York Times Best Seller KaBOOM!: How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play . The book details how businesses and communities can work together to save play for children across the country. All author proceeds support KaBOOM!. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org .
About The Humana Foundation
The Humana Foundation was established in 1981 as the philanthropic arm of Humana Inc., one of the nation’s leading health care companies. Located in Louisville, Ky., the site of Humana’s corporate headquarters, the Foundation’s mission is to support charitable activities that promote healthy lives and healthy communities. The Foundation’s key priorities for funding are childhood health and education, health literacy, and intergenerational health. For more information, visit www.humanafoundation.org .
Humana and The Humana Foundation are dedicated to Corporate Social Responsibility. Our goal is to ensure that every business decision we make reflects our commitment to improving the health and well-being of our members, our associates, the communities we serve, and our planet.
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