America’s Promise Alliance, KOOL-AID & KaBOOM! Team Up
With City of St. Petersburg & Mayor Rick Baker to Build New
Playground in Just One Day for Children at Trailhead Park

Child-designed playground to be built by hundreds of volunteers on Dec. 6

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A 2008 KaBOOM! Playful City USA community and one of the 2008 100 Best Communities for Young People by America’s Promise Alliance, the City of St. Petersburg was selected among more than a dozen other communities to receive a new community-built playground to be built on Saturday, Dec. 6 at Trailhead Park.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker, City Council Chair Jamie Bennett and District 6 City Councilman Wengay Newton will join more than 200 volunteers from America’s Promise Alliance, KOOL-AID, the City of St. Petersburg, organizers from KaBOOM! and residents of the local community to build a new playground at Trailhead Park. The new playground’s design is based on drawings provided by children who attended a Design Day. The playground build will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a kickoff ceremony and will conclude with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2:30 p.m.

St. Petersburg was selected as the winning community for its outstanding work to ensure that all children and youth in its community have a safe place to play. The city’s innovative “Play ‘N’ Close to Home” program utilizes public-private partnerships to build public playgrounds within a safe walking distance (1/2 mile) of every child in the city.

24 Hour Fitness and KaBOOM! Team Up to Build Playgrounds for Houston Children

SAN RAMON, Calif., and WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 6, 2008) – 24 Hour Fitness, the largest privately-owned U.S. fitness chain and a health club industry pioneer, and KaBOOM!, a national non-profit dedicated to bringing play back into the lives of children, are teaming up to build new playgrounds in Houston communities impacted by Hurricane Ike. The partnership will help children in the region get fit and stay healthy while aiding communities that are recovering from the storm.

Throughout the month of October, 24 Hour Fitness will donate $1 from the monthly dues of Houston area members to KaBOOM! to help build the playgrounds. 24 Hour Fitness team members will join members and community volunteers to build the first playground on December 13, with a second playground to be built in early 2009. Locations for both playgrounds will be announced at a later date. 24 Hour Fitness club members will also be invited to donate through an in-club fundraising campaign, with all proceeds going to KaBOOM!.

"24 Hour Fitness is part of the Houston community and we want to ensure that kids in these neighborhoods have a place where they can just be kids again," said 24 Hour Fitness CEO Carl Liebert. "Physical fitness and staying active can help change a person’s life and we hope that bringing these playgrounds back to the region will help families recover from this disaster."

"KaBOOM! knows that disasters such as Hurricane Ike affect everyone, especially kids, who depend on peaceful, familiar routines to keep them feeling safe and secure," said Darell Hammond, CEO and co-founder of KaBOOM!. "As we’ve seen with the playgrounds we’ve built in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, playgrounds give kids a great way to stay mentally and physically healthy when the rest of the world around them is chaotic."

KaBOOM! is also calling on Houston-area residents and organizations to document playgrounds damaged by the storm on the KaBOOM! Playspace Finder, at http://playspacefinder.kaboom.org. As the damaged playgrounds are added to the online database, KaBOOM! will work to recruit supporters in the region to help clean-up and repair those playspaces that need attention. 

KaBOOM! and America’s Promise Alliance Award New Playground to St. Petersburg
Announcement made at National Forum on Youth in Washington, DC

WASHINGTON, DC—KaBOOM!, a national non-profit dedicated to bringing play back into the lives of children and America’s Promise Alliance today announced that the city of St. Petersburg, FL has been selected to receive a brand new community-built playground. This project is made possible by KOOL-AID as part of its partnership with KaBOOM! to build playgrounds across the country. The formal announcement of the city’s selection will take place this evening at the 100 Best Communities for Young People celebration in Washington, DC. The award will be accepted by Mayor Rick Baker.

St. Petersburg was selected as the winning community for its outstanding work to ensure that all children and youth in its community have a safe place to play. The city’s innovative “Play 'N' Close to Home” program utilizes public-private partnerships to build public playgrounds within a safe walking distance (1/2 mile) of every child in the city. Since 2004, the program has increased the total access to playspaces by 20 percent in residential areas across the city, in partnership with schools and houses of worship.

The Home Depot Foundation Renews Partnership With National Non-profit KaBOOM!
Promotes Playgrounds and Sustainable Practices

Atlanta, Sept. 12, 2008 --The Home Depot® Foundation today announced that it will continue its partnership with KaBOOM!, the national non-profit dedicated to bringing play back into the lives of children. The Home Depot is a founding partner of KaBOOM!, and the organizations have been working together since 1996 to build playgrounds and playing fields across North America. In addition to building great places for children to play, the partnership will focus on creating and sharing sustainable practices for a wide array of volunteer initiatives.

In 2009, KaBOOM! and The Home Depot Foundation will create 57 sustainable places to play, activate approximately 7,000 Team Depot associate-volunteers and 4,000 community volunteers so that over the lifetime of the playgrounds, more than 570,000 children will have a great place to go outside and play.

Three of these playgrounds will be ‘green’ playground pilot projects, created with new types of sustainable manufactured equipment. This year, the organizations are adding a new focus on reducing the environmental impact of the design, production, building and maintenance of the play area. Each project will also include an environmental education curriculum to teach approximately 14,250 community leaders, Team Depot associate-volunteers and children about ways to minimize the environmental impact of any community development project.

Architect David Rockwell, in Partnership with KaBOOM!, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and Local Officials Present an Expandable Collection of Imagination Playground’s Signature Loose Parts to Encourage Creative, Collaborative Kids’ Play

See photos from the event

On Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 12pm, architect David Rockwell of Rockwell Group, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, KaBOOM! CEO and co-founder Darell Hammond, Brooklyn Councilman Charles Barron and other local dignitaries will unveil the first-ever Imagination Playground in a BOX – a new children’s play space at the Brownsville Recreation Center playground, located at Linden Boulevard between Mother Gaston Boulevard and Christopher Street in Brooklyn, NY.  Sixty children from the Brownsville Summer Camp will be on hand to see the introduction of their new play space and of course, to play!  This installation is funded by KaBOOM!, a national non-profit  dedicated to bringing play back into the lives of children, as part of their mission to ensure that every child has access to a great place to play within walking distance.  Councilman Barron has been working extensively to transform the Brownsville Recreational Center and its adjacent park into a vibrant, new area for neighborhood children.

“It’s so exciting to see the concept of creative play actually become a reality in New York,” said David Rockwell, founder and CEO of Rockwell Group.  We are incredibly grateful to KaBOOM!, the New York City Parks & Recreation Department, and Brownsville’s local officials for working with us to make these play opportunities available to the children in this community and beyond.”

Learn more about KaBOOM! and Imagination Playground.

June 28 & 29, 11 am – 5 pm

Imaginative Foam Blocks of a Variety of Shapes and Sizes, Fabric, Tarps and Cardboard Nurture Fun, Imaginative Play

Queens, N.Y. – June 17, 2008 - Children of all ages are invited to play with hundreds of foam building blocks from Imagination Playground, which nurtures creative play and is being planned for downtown New York City, when the Hall in the Anthony Viscusi Gallery at the New York Hall of Science is transformed into a giant playground for kids of all ages on June 28 and 29th between 11am and 5pm.  This event will feature over 265 blue foam blocks of different weights and sizes, which children will be able to build structures and sculptures, tear them down, and then start all over again.  They will also be able to integrate loose parts and found objects, including fabrics, tarps and reused cardboard, into the fun. 
 
The foam blocks, designed by the Rockwell Group, are part of the architecture and design firm’s Imagination Playground which is being built in Burling Slip near South Street Seaport, as well as in an abbreviated form in Brownsville, Brooklyn.  There are others being planned for the remaining boroughs of New York, and throughout the country. Rockwell Group first developed the design and concept for Imagination Playground, which breaks ground this summer, to nurture creative play through a combination of loose parts, water and sand, creating an infinite number of creative play ideas and ensuring that no two visits to the play ground are ever the same. This type of design architecture allows for transformative, socio-cooperative and imaginative constructive play, which can evolve as children mature.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – KaBOOM!, a national non-profit organization that empowers communities to build playgrounds, and CNN announced an agreement to promote play as part of an active lifestyle for children.

KaBOOM!, which has directly facilitated the building of more than 1,400 playspaces across North America since its inception in 1995, will join with CNN and Cox Communications to build a playground at Pontiff Park in New Orleans in just one day on June 28  that will provide more than 10,000 children with a great place to play. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta will participate in the build, which will be covered as part of CNN’s Fit Nation programming, a multi-platform initiative to stop obesity.

“We’re thrilled to collaborate with CNN in this endeavor,” KaBOOM! CEO and co-founder Darell Hammond said. “We’re optimistic that promoting healthy and active lifestyles with CNN will produce positive change on multiple fronts. There’s no question that increasing the amount of time children play on a playground is a critical component to our goal of improving fitness and health.”

The build will be featured on CNN’s House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a program dedicated to the latest health and medical developments and airs on Saturdays and Sundays from 7:30 to 8 a.m. (CT), as well as Fit Nation segments across the network’s properties. The playground build also marks the first CNN Fit Nation activity in 2008. CNN’s Fit Nation initiative began in 2006 as an ongoing multi-platform initiative to stop obesity and encourage healthier lifestyles. Over the past two years, Fit Nation and Gupta have traveled across the country engaging people in their own communities to get more active and develop local programs to meet the challenges of being overweight.

American Institute for Public Service
100 West 10th Street, Suite 215
Wilmington, DE 19801-1665

Darell Hammond to Receive 2008 National Jefferson Award

WASHINGTON D.C., - Darell Hammond will receive the Jefferson Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 7 p.m. in East Hall, Union Station.  Selected by the Jefferson Awards’ prestigious board of selectors, Darell was chosen for a 2008 Jefferson Award for his advocacy on issues concerning children and community redevelopment.

KaBOOM! builds 100th playground in the Gulf
“Operation Playground” initiative provides a great place to play for 49,605 children from Houston to Mobile

After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast, KaBOOM!, the national non-profit that empowers communities to build playgrounds, made a commitment to build 100 playgrounds in the areas hardest hit by the storms.  On June 14th, in Bay St. Louis Miss., KaBOOM! will reach this goal.

“When KaBOOM! began Operation Playground just three months after Hurricane Katrina struck, those outside the area were incredulous, believing that playgrounds were the last thing people needed in the midst of the devastation,” said Darell Hammond, CEO and Co-founder, KaBOOM! “But we knew that the Gulf Coast’s youngest residents needed safe places to escape the stress of the rebuilding effort and reclaim their childhood.”

On Dec. 17, 2005, more than 600 residents and other volunteers came together at Carol Vegas Park in Bay St. Louis, Miss., to build a new playground, the first new permanent structure constructed in the town since Hurricane Katrina.  Some wanted to give their kids a safe place to go while they re-built their homes; some remembered the aftermath of Hurricane Camille in 1969 and said they wanted to make sure local children had a place to heal emotionally; and others came out to take action and to be a part of the rebuilding process.  On that day, and 98 other days just like it, volunteers transformed an empty lot into a great place to play in just one day.

KOOL-AID Announces New Products and Better-for-You Brand Direction;
Joins With KaBOOM! & Hip-Hop Pioneer Reverend Run to Build Playgrounds Nationwide to Encourage Healthy, Active Lifestyles

TARRYTOWN, N.Y., May 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- KOOL-AID, the iconic soft drink that has stood for fun and refreshment for generations of children and their parents, today announced it will provide additional better-for-you options for consumers by introducing new and reformulated products this spring and in coming years.

The brand, launched in Nebraska in 1927 and now offering both powdered and ready-to-drink beverages, also announced a new partnership with KaBOOM!, the national non-profit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Over the next year, KOOL-AID and KaBOOM! will build 24 playgrounds in cities around the country, provide grants toward building 20 more, and work with local communities, parents and children to encourage healthier and more active lifestyles.

"We understand that our consumers are looking for more choices that better meet the needs of their families," said Kirstie Krall, Senior Brand Manager, KOOL-AID. "We're firmly committed to providing moms and kids with products that combine the great fun and flavor of KOOL-AID while providing better-for-you beverage options to help support a healthier lifestyle. And, in addition to offering new and improved products, we're partnering with KaBOOM! to create great places to play for kids in cities around the country so that communities have somewhere to come together and get active." [Read more]

Learn more at kaboom.org/kool-aid

FROM:  Rockwell Group

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARCHITECT DAVID ROCKWELL & KaBOOM! COLLABORATE ON NEW GENERATION OF “FREE PLAY” SPACES TO BE BUILT ACROSS THE U.S.

Anticipate Over 1,000 Imagination Playgrounds Across the Country Within Five Years

Partnership to Encourage Play and Creativity – First “Playground in a Box” to be Installed In Brownsville, Brooklyn

May 5, 2008 (New York, NY) – Architect David Rockwell of Rockwell Group and KaBOOM!, the foremost national not for profit dedicated to bringing play back into the lives of children, today announced a partnership to develop and implement a new generation of playspaces across the United States, based on the play value concepts of Imagination Playground, the Rockwell Group’s design for a playground in lower Manhattan. 

The Rockwell Group created Imagination Playground, which will break ground this summer, to embody the concept of unstructured, child directed “free play,” where children direct their own activities, alone and with their peers.  The Rockwell Group has worked closely with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation on the initiative.

“We have always hoped to make the Imagination Playground concept available to communities nationwide,” said David Rockwell, founder and CEO of Rockwell Group.  “We could not be more thankful to KaBOOM! for helping make that dream a reality.”

KaBOOM! has spent 12 years building playspaces using a community build model, where they partner with corporations, foundations and private donors.  Creating opportunities and tools for building playgrounds, KaBOOM! will extend their play platform by incorporating the Imagination Playground model into an expandable collection of its trademark parts to supplement existing playgrounds and form the basis for new playspaces. 

"KaBOOM! believes that play is a matter of national importance.  We can't wait to bring some of the most innovative, yet old-fashioned concepts in play back to children across the country.  By adding sand, water, loose parts, and play associates to what KaBOOM! already offers, we're going to revolutionize your neighborhood playground," said Darell Hammond, co-founder and CEO of KaBOOM!

The Home Depot and KaBOOM! Celebrate 1,000th Playspace
$25 Million Campaign to Build or Refurbish 1000 Playspaces Reaches Milestone in April

Washington, D.C., April 9, 2008 - KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit organization whose vision is a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America, announces that The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, is its first partner to build or refurbish 1,000 playspaces. The Home Depot and KaBOOM! first committed to building 1,000 playspaces together in 2005.

“The Home Depot’s unprecedented participation in this initiative will enhance the physical, social and emotional well-being of children all over North America,” said Darell Hammond, CEO and Co-Founder, KaBOOM! “as we reach our 1,000th playspace build on April 10, 2008, I am truly astounded by the impact this partnership has made on communities across the nation.”

The 1,000th build will take place in Victory Park, in the City of Marietta, GA. The playground, built in partnership with the City of Marietta Parks & Recreation and the Marietta Kiwanis, will provide a safe, fun environment for children from the community and three nearby schools.

As the founding partner of KaBOOM! since 1995, The Home Depot provides financial support, materials and hundreds of volunteers for play space projects across North America.

Key facts:

• 1,000 playgrounds built or refurbished in 1,000 days
• $25 million invested by The Home Depot
• 954,435 volunteer hours donated by Home Depot associates
• 99,555 Team Depot volunteers participated
• 619,300 children served

Each playground built through this campaign was funded by a $47,200 grant by The Home Depot and a $10,000 contribution from the community partner receiving the playground. Other playspace programs included in this program include community challenge grants, field refurbishments, and skateparks. Once a community partner has been selected, the typical planning period leading up to Build Day is eight to 10 weeks. The project is led by the KaBOOM! project manager and build captains from The Home Depot and the community partner. On Build Day, approximately 150 volunteers from The Home Depot and 100 community volunteers join together to construct a new playground.

Jamison to help build playground in Shreveport, promote importance of play among children

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  As part of his ongoing efforts to provide “A Better Tomorrow” for children, NBA All-Star Antawn Jamison and national non-profit KaBOOM! announced a new partnership to encourage and promote play among children across the country.

KaBOOM!, an organization that empowers communities to build playgrounds, will team with Jamison to sponsor a playground build in his hometown of Shreveport in September of 2008 with the potential to build playgrounds in other areas in the future. Additionally, Jamison will serve as a KaBOOM! All-Star Playmaker – an extension of the Playmaker Network consisting of national leaders and celebrities who take action for play on behalf of KaBOOM!, while promoting the importance of play.

Jamison, whose “A Better Tomorrow” campaign has helped countless individuals across the country via scholarships, clothing and food donations and financial contributions, participated alongside hundreds of volunteers to build a KaBOOM! playground in just one day in New Orleans on Feb. 15 at the Mahalia Jackson Early Childhood and Family Learning Center in conjunction with the 2008 NBA All-Star Game. Inspired by the massive community involvement and the tangible result of a playground that will serve thousands of children, Jamison contacted KaBOOM! to facilitate building a playground in his childhood home of Shreveport.

“Encouraging children to play by building playgrounds is important to me because it not only allows a kid to be a kid, but it also helps bring entire communities together,” Jamison said. “Those are two of my biggest charitable goals. It seems that television and video games are making so many children grow up too quickly these days. Playing video games is fun but playing outside and interacting with other kids is where friendships are built and dreams are created.” 

... 

FOR RELEASE MARCH 13, 2008 6:00 A.M. PDST

Media Contacts:

First project kicks off today as children in San Antonio community gather to design their dream playground

March 13, 2008 – SEATTLE  –  This year, thousands of children across the country will get great new, safe places to play thanks to a new partnership announced today between WaMu, the nation’s leading consumer and small business bank, and KaBOOM!, a national non-profit organization that empowers communities to build playgrounds.  This year-long partnership will bring together almost 2,000 corporate and community volunteers to build child-designed playgrounds in Atlanta, Chatsworth, Calif., Chicago, Jacksonville, Fla., Los Angeles, New York City, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle and one more city to be announced at a later date.

KaBOOM! and America’s Promise Alliance
Team Up to Provide a Playground to One Deserving Community

All 2008 100 Best Communities for Young People Winners Eligible for Playground Prize

WASHINGTON, DC—KABOOM!, a national non-profit that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America, today announced at the America’s Promise Alliance’s (the Alliance) 100 Best Communities for Young People National Forum in Washington, DC that the two organizations will team together to give a brand new community-built playground—valued at $70,000—to one of the Alliance’s 2008 100 Best Communities for Young People (100 Best). To qualify for the new playground, communities must be named a 2008 100 Best and a 2008 Playful City USA as part of the KABOOM! National Campaign for Play.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Vietti, KaBOOM!
202-464-6076

Children's drawings to create blueprint for new community playgrounds as part of innovative "Leave a Legacy of Play Fund" and Operation Playground Efforts

KaBOOM!, a nonprofit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America, brings together 19 separate donors to host a Design Day for children in Long Beach, Miss. (Aug. 28, 4:30 p.m.) and New Orleans (Aug. 29, 4:30 p.m.) in conjunction with the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Children will put crayon to paper and draw their dream playgrounds, which will ultimately become a reality. Elements from the children’s drawings will be incorporated into the final design for the new community playgrounds to be built on “Make a Difference Day” on Oct. 27 in both Long Beach and New Orleans.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     
CONTACT: Alison Risso, KaBOOM!
202-464-6186
Sarah Pinsky, KaBOOM!
312-822-5871

Fund to Build Playgrounds for Gulf Coast Kids on Make A Difference Day

Washington, DC – KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America, announced today a new fund to allow individuals and organizations to contribute as little as $1000 to help sponsor a playground in the Gulf Coast.  The organization’s new Leave a Legacy of Play Fund will combine smaller donations in order to build two new playgrounds in the Gulf Coast this October.  The Fund received a major boost when Fannie Mae, as part of its ongoing commitment to help rebuild Gulf Coast communities, announced it will be a KaBOOM! Legacy Partner with an $85,000 contribution.  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    
CONTACT: Alison Risso, KaBOOM!
Office: 202-464-6186
ARisso@kaboom.org

WHAT MAKES A GREAT PLAYGROUND?

Washington, DC, June 12, 2007 –Summer is here and with it comes trips to the local playground for a little frolic and fun.  Sure, we all know that kids love to swing and slide and if you're lucky, your local playspace will accommodate these basic needs.  But, what makes a great playground?  What types of activities and equipment are going to stimulate your children so that they are getting most out of their playground experience?

KaBOOM! Marks 50th Operation Playground Build in New Orleans
Playground Pioneers Complete the 50th Playground Build in the Gulf Coast

For Immediate Release

Contact: Alison Risso, KaBOOM!
Office: 202-464-6186
Cell: 202-315-6498
arisso@kaboom.org

Washington, DC, May 16, 2007 –On May 21, the students at Drew Elementary School in New Orleans will no longer have to call the broken asphalt behind the school their playground.  Instead, they will be able to swing, jump and slide on a brightly-colored, state-of-the-art custom playground built in just one day by more than 300 volunteers.  The new playground is the 50th built in the Gulf Coast by the nonprofit organization KaBOOM! as part of its Operation Playground initiative to build 100 playgrounds in communities affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 

California First Lady Maria Shriver and CaliforniaVolunteers Launch Effort to Build Community Playspaces that Honor Cesar E. Chavez

In celebration of Cesar Chavez Day, 10 playspaces will be built across California
in partnership with national nonprofit KaBOOM!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE        

CONTACT:    Margie Hall, KaBOOM!
202-464-6165

A PLAYFUL EDUCATION: KaBOOM! HOSTS AWARD-WINNING TRAINING AND HANDS-ON PLAYGROUND BUILD IN NEW ORLEANS
KaBOOM! University of Play (U Play!) partners with Woodmere Elementary to build new playground in one day for New Orleans area children in conjunction with national training

What: The national nonprofit KaBOOM! brings its award-winning training U Play! to New Orleans on February 8-10, 2007. U Play! is a three day training conference that promotes the importance of play and provides participants the knowledge and resources needed to build playspaces such as playgrounds, skateparks or sports fields in their community. As part of the training, over 300 volunteers from U Play!, Woodmere Elementary and residents of the New Orleans area will join forces on February 10, to build a new playground at Woodmere Elementary.  The playground design is based on drawings developed by Woodmere students at a Design Day event held in December.   

For Immediate Release
Media Advisory
Contact: Margie Hall, KaBOOM!, (202) 464-6165

202-528-7724, mfontanez@kaboom.org                     

Washington, D.C., August 11, 2006 –On the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, The Home Depot^®, KaBOOM!, Playworld Systems and Hands On Network will mobilize thousands of volunteers in seven Gulf Coast communities to build 10 new playspaces in just four days.

In June, local children met with organizers from KaBOOM!, The Home Depot, Playworld Systems and Hands On Network to draw their “dream” playgrounds and share their ideas for the new playspace; the children’s drawings were used to create the final playground designs.  In addition to a new play structure, projects also include a number of other enhancements, such as picnic tables, benches, shade structures and landscaping.  Planning committees made up of local residents have met weekly with representatives from all four organizations to plan these enhancements as well as volunteer recruitment, site preparation and children’s activities for Build Day.

“Renewing hope for children is as important as rebuilding homes and businesses in Gulf Coast communities. These new playspaces are just one way The Home Depot is helping to restore communities following the devastation brought by Katrina,” said Bob Nardelli, chairman, president & CEO of The Home Depot.

The 10 anniversary week sites are Nelson UNO Charter School (New Orleans), Second Street Elementary School (Bay St. Louis), Carolyn Park Middle School (Slidell), John Henry Beck Park (Biloxi), Pass Christian High School (Pass Christian), Owen T. Palmer Park (Gulfport), Carol Vegas Park (Bay St. Louis), Central Elementary School (Pascagoula), Miramar Park (Biloxi) and Hancock Medical Center (Bay St. Louis).

The projects are part of Operation Playground, a two-year initiative of KaBOOM! to build 100 playgrounds in Gulf Coast communities affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  By the end of this year, KaBOOM! will have mobilized more than 5,000 volunteers to build 30 playgrounds in the Gulf Coast through Operation Playground.

“We want this ‘week of play’ to show the Gulf Coast children and communities that we have not forgotten.  At the same time, we need to remind the rest of the country that there is still a lot of work to do in the areas that were affected by the storms.  There are still so many Gulf Coast children who have no safe place to play, no place to just be kids.  Given everything they’ve gone through this last year, we owe them that,” said Darell Hammond, CEO and co-founder, KaBOOM!.  “KaBOOM! is committed to bringing play back to the Gulf Coast, one playground at a time, and we're thrilled to have dedicated partners like The Home Depot, Playworld Systems and Hands On Network by our side.”

The Home Depot is investing more than $75 million to support the ongoing rebuilding efforts throughout the Gulf region. Combining capital construction with philanthropic support, the investment is creating jobs, driving economic activity and supporting local community efforts to rebuild homes and offer hope for the future. Through the Rebuilding Hope and Homes program, The Home Depot, The Home Depot Foundation and its suppliers have committed more than $11.5 million in cash and materials to all phases of the relief, response and rebuilding efforts.

KaBOOM! and Playworld Systems have been partners since 2000.  As part of the Gulf initiative, Playworld Systems is donating all the playground and LifeTrail equipment for each of the 10 builds and working with The Home Depot, KaBOOM! and Hands On Network to build the structures.

“Recreation is a vital element to people of all ages, and we are dedicated to helping those affected by this disaster restore some sort of normalcy to their lives and their communities,” said Matt Miller, president of Playworld Systems. “We have been down to several of the build sites and have witnessed the devastation firsthand. These communities need all the help they can get, and Playworld is proud to be part of this effort.”

Hands On Network is a network of 58 nonprofit organizations around the world that inspire volunteers, create leaders, and change lives and communities through effective volunteer action.  Immediately after the storms, Hands On Network established Hands On Action Centers in New Orleans and Biloxi to help with disaster recovery, and are now helping organize long-term rebuilding efforts in the areas.

More information on the anniversary week projects and Operation Playground is available at www.kaboom.org. 

About KaBOOM!
Celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2006, KaBOOM! is a national nonprofit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America.  Over the past decade, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct nearly 1,000 new playgrounds, skateparks, sports fields and ice rinks across North America.  KaBOOM! also offers a variety of resources, including a Web portal and online community, regional and national trainings, grants and publications for communities that wish to plan a new playspace on their own.  Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago, Atlanta and San Mateo, Calif.   For more information, visit www.kaboom.org or call (202) 659-0215.

About The Home Depot

The Home Depot® is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,081 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. Through its HD Supply^SM businesses, The Home Depot is also one of the largest diversified wholesale distributors in the United States, with more than 900 locations in the United States and Canada offering products and services for building, improving and maintaining homes, businesses and municipal infrastructures. In fiscal 2005, The Home Depot had sales of $81.5 billion and earnings of $5.8 billion. The Company employs approximately 355,000 associates and has been recognized by FORTUNE magazine as the No. 1 Most Admired Specialty Retailer and the No. 13 Most Admired Corporation in America for 2006. The Home Depot’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index. 

About Playworld Systems

Headquartered in Lewisburg, Pa., Playworld Systems is the commercial leader in customized recreation equipment expertly designed to provide fun and challenging activities that increase mental and physical wellness. With more than 30 years of experience, the family-owned company offers a variety of recreational solutions that develop physical strength, balance and aerobic activity, as well as enhancing social skills. Through its five brands - Playworld, PlayDesigns, Woodward Ramps and Rails, LifeTrail and Climbing Boulders - Playworld Systems is recognized by its customers as a one-stop shop that offers the most innovative, creative and imaginative recreational products in the world. More information on Playworld is available at playworldsystems.com.

About Hands On Network

Hands On Network is leading a national civic movement bringing people together to tackle tough community problems. The Hands On movement is led by a network of 58 local nonprofit organizations that act as civic action centers. The Hands On approach inspires volunteers, creates leaders, and changes lives and communities through effective volunteer action.  For more information about Hands On Network, please visit www.HandsOnNetwork.org or call (404) 979-2900.

# # #