The City of North Charleston was once again named a “Playful City USA” community by KaBOOM!, the national non-profit dedicated to play for America’s children. KaBOOM! created “Playful City USA” in 2007 to help local governments address the play deficit by ensuring children have the time and space they need to play.
The KaBOOM! Playful City USA program, sponsored by the Humana Foundation, honors cities, towns and communities across America that are taking steps to ensure that all children have easy access to balanced and active play in their communities.
This is the 4th consecutive year the City of North Charleston has earned the honor. 212 cities and towns across the country received the designation of which only 5 were recognized from the State of South Carolina.
North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey stated, “North Charleston has invested heavily in projects and programs that facilitate healthy lifestyles and the wellbeing of our young citizens. The additions of new parks, recreation facilities, and innovative public-private partnerships have extended our ability to offer all North Charleston youth with high quality opportunities to play and be active. Receiving the Playful City USA designation for the 4th consecutive year is validation of our efforts.”
“We are thrilled to recognize all of these communities that are working to ensure all kids, particularly the 16 million that live in poverty, get the play they need to thrive,” said KaBOOM! CEO and Founder Darell Hammond.
Humana President and CEO Bruce Broussard added, “We’re excited about our journey with KaBOOM! and we appreciate the shared values that Humana, the Humana Foundation, and the KaBOOM! organization can rally around. Making it easy for families to play, be healthy and thrive together is a part of Humana’s dream, and it’s a commitment that all of us at Humana enjoy sharing with KaBOOM!.”
Opportunities for play have continued to increase in the City of North Charleston. Most recently, the City cut the ribbon for the opening of the Miner Crosby Community Center and the completion of the improvements at Murray Hill Park. Last November, Select Health of South Carolina and AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership joined with Metanoia to lead more than 75 volunteers as they built a new playground adjacent to the Chicora Place Community Garden. Also, the Danny Jones swimming pool was enclosed to provide year-round aquatics, Pepperhill Park was renovated, and Wescott Park opened, a baseball complex and Cal Ripken training facility.
The recent improvements have enhanced the programs and camps offered by the North Charleston Recreation Department.
In November 2009, KaBOOM! donated and assisted in building a state of the art, handicap accessible playground on Brookside Drive in North Charleston. KaBOOM! representatives, local non-profit The Sustainability Institute, community volunteers, and civic leaders participated in the single-day build of the playground. View photos of the build day.
For more information on the KaBOOM! Playful City USA program, www.kaboom.org/playfulcityusa.
About 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 6,600,00 children nationwide. KaBOOM! creates and promotes 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 www.kaboom.org/act or follow the conversation on why #playmatters at www.twitter.com/kaboom or www.facebook.com/kaboom.