2011-06-15
dmvblogspot.bloggieblog.com
Staff Writter
The First Lady, Members of Congress, volunteers from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and hundreds of volunteers from the Southeast Washington, D.C. community built the new 4,000 square foot playground in less than eight hours to celebrate the 2,000th playground build by non-profit KaBOOM!, which is celebrating its 15th birthday in 2011.
“I’ve known and worked with KaBOOM! long before being First Lady,†said Obama. “To see this organization grow as it has, impacting so many communities, so many schools, so many young people, it is really a source of pride to be here today to celebrate the 2,000th build. I’m really proud of Darell (Hammond), I’m proud of everyone at KaBOOM! because it takes thousands and thousands of people to do what they all do all over the country.â€
KaBOOM!, a national non-profit founded by The New York Times Best Selling author Darell Hammond, is dedicated to saving play for children and has raised more than $200 million to support the cause since 1996. In that time, KaBOOM! has directly led the construction of 2,000 playspaces across North America that collectively serve 5,501,334 children.
"When KaBOOM! started at a table in a Washington, D.C. deli 15 years ago, no one believed play was important or thought we would even last a year and here we are celebrating our 15th birthday and our 2,000th playground build," said Hammond. "For 15 years, KaBOOM! has fought the Play Deficit among children and the participation of the First Lady and members of Congress in this playground project validates the notion we have firmly believed since our inception, which is that every child deserves a great place to play."
The 2,000th KaBOOM! build was made possible by Knight Foundation, which has invested $1.4 million in KaBOOM! to build 14 playgrounds across the U.S. with KaBOOM! in the last two years.
http://dmvblogspot.bloggieblog.com/4273/4273.htmltags: Michelle Obama, obama,non profit and michelle obama,
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