August 29, 2007 - 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.

The Design Days are part of two KaBOOM! initiatives: The Leave a Legacy of Play Fund and Operation Playground. The Leave a Legacy of Play Fund, in breaking from the traditional KaBOOM! funding model, brings together 19 generous donors that contributed between $1,000 and $75,000 toward the building of two playgrounds in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Fannie Mae is the Legacy Partner having donated $85,000 toward the initiative. In addition, Entergy Corporation, Fairytale Brownies, Lisa and Adam Palmer, Katrina Children’s Charity and Playworld Systems, Inc. each are Legacy Donors having contributed $7,500 toward the project. Other contributors included individuals, corporations, foundations and community groups who donated $1,000 or more.

The playground builds on Oct. 27 will represent the 65th and 66th projects for Operation Playground - the KaBOOM! initiative to build 100 playgrounds in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The selected sites for the playground builds are the Guste Homes housing development in New Orleans and the War Memorial park in Long Beach. Currently, children have no safe outdoor recreation options at the Guste Homes development, one of the first affordable housing developments available in New Orleans post-Katrina. War Memorial Park, a central gathering spot for more than 60 years in Long Beach, was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, which rendered its playground equipment unusable.

As part of its ongoing efforts, KaBOOM! will also be constructing shade structures on three separate previously-built playgrounds in the Gulf Coast in conjunction with the anniversary. On Oct. 28, shade structures will be completed in Gulfport (Owen T. Park) and Biloxi (Beck Park) with another shade structure to follow in Biloxi (Miramar Park) on Oct. 29.

ABOUT KaBOOM! & THE LEAVE A LEGACY OF PLAY FUND

KaBOOM! is a national nonprofit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. The Leave a Legacy of Play Fund is the latest KaBOOM! initiative involving its innovative community-build model that brings together business and community interests. In a break from its traditional funding model, The Leave a Legacy of Play Fund brings together 19 different donors to fund the construction of two playgrounds simultaneously on Oct. 27 on "Make a Difference Day" in two areas affected by Hurricane Katrina - New Orleans and Long Beach, Miss. The playgrounds represent the 65th and 66th built as part of the KaBOOM! Operation Playground effort to build 100 playgrounds in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.

KaBOOM!

KaBOOM!

KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to the bold goal of ensuring that all children, particularly the 16 million American children living in poverty, get the active play they need to become healthy and successful adults. KaBOOM! has been a powerful champion for play since its founding in 1996, working with partners to build, improve, and open more than 15,000 playgrounds, engage more than 1,000,000 volunteers and serve more than 6,600,000 children. KaBOOM! creates and catalyzes great places to play; inspires, empowers and leads play advocates; and elevates the societal conversation about the importance of play in children’s lives. For more information, visit kaboom.org/act.

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