Good Citizen

Day: Twenty Eight

Organization: KaBOOM!

Activity: Playground Build

Back on Day Two I talked about how lucky I was to grow up attending well-maintained schools with wide open fields. Well, in that same town, I was fortunate enough to have great parks with fun, safe playgrounds to play on. In fact, thinking back, I am somewhat amazed at how many playgrounds there were, not to mention the swing sets at my house and those of many relatives.

Unfortunately, that is not the case in so many communities. Hundreds, if not thousands, of playgrounds around the country are simply outdated and no longer safe. And, schools and communities lack the funds to repair or replace them. But, there is good news — KaBOOM!

KaBoom! is one of my all time favorite non-profits. They bring together communities along with the private and public sectors to provide kids with safe places to play. What’s cooler than that? So, KaBOOM! was on my short list or organizations I really wanted to work with during my thirty days and fortunately they had a playground build that worked with my schedule.

It was a strenuous day of hard work, but fun at the same time. I was one of more than 200 volunteers who came out to build the kids of Pico Rivera a new, safe place to play. I just wish I could have been there to play on this incredible new playground with them (but, the concrete needs three days to dry).

I have written before about how important play is for kids, as well as for us adults. So, if you ever get a chance to go work with KaBOOM!, do it — the results of your hard work will live on for generations!

Off to play!