About
About the Book
KaBOOM! is the powerfully uplifting journey of a man who grew up in a group home with his seven brothers and sisters and went on to build a world-class non-profit that harnesses the power of community to improve the lives of children.
In 1995, an unthinkable tragedy occurred. Two young children suffocated in a car on a hot summer day in southeast Washington, DC. The Washington Post story indicated that the children had nowhere to play; in the absence of a playground they had climbed into an abandoned car. Two miles away, Hammond was working in another play deprived neighborhood in the midst of organizing a community-built playground project as part of a gathering on volunteerism. Hammond’s sense of injustice was fueled when he read the article and his life mission came into focus. The death of the two children ignited a movement.
Hammond co-founded KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit that provides tools, resources, and guidance to build and renovate playgrounds and playspaces through participation of their communities. In some of the toughest and poorest neighborhoods in North America 2,000 barren spaces have been transformed into kid-designed, fun and imaginative places to play by KaBOOM! and more than a million volunteers and community members.
Hammond’s story demonstrates how one idealist can change the world and how small, civic-minded steps create a ripple effect that can transform communities and eventually the world at large. More than just a memoir, KaBOOM! is a call to action that inspires by challenging traditional notions of community and social change.
This is the story of a man with a vision: Play is the best natural resource in a creative economy. Kids need more of it—it is not a luxury but a necessity for their lives. Through hard work, commitment, and the conviction that access to a safe play environment is the fundamental right of all children, Hammond built an organization that has touched the lives of countless children and families. The reader will be moved to take action.
About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is a national non-profit dedicated to saving play for America’s children. Founded in 1996, KaBOOM!’s mission is to create great playspaces through the participation and leadership of communities, and envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child.
Play is on the decline throughout America. Not enough playspaces are being built, and those that exist are often in disrepair. Fears surrounding lawsuits and safety are trumping common sense, resulting in sterile, uninspired play environments. Recess is being eliminated from our nation’s schools. Kids are overscheduled, and in their free time, many choose to stay indoors, lulled by television, computers and video games.
KaBOOM! fights this troubling play deficit, and its many related problems, through three central strategies:
- Constructing innovative, kid-inspired playspaces, using a community-build model that improves the well-being of the children served as well as the neighborhoods in which they live.
- Sharing the knowledge and tools needed for anyone to find, improve, and/or build playgrounds on their own.
- Building a broad movement driven by research, analysis, policy, and community engagement.
Since its creation, KaBOOM! has built over 1,900 playgrounds, saving play for over 3.5 million children. To learn more, visit www.kaboom.org.
About the Author
Darell Hammond is the Founder and CEO of KaBOOM!, a not-for-profit based in Washington, DC dedicated to saving play by making sure there is a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. KaBOOM! works with communities to build playgrounds in all 50 states where there are none. Local businesses and national corporations provide 90% of the funding and add additional muscle. To help start the conversation and educate Americans about the importance of play in children’s lives, Hammond wrote KABOOM!: How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play (Rodale, April 2011).
Hammond grew up with seven brothers and sisters at the Mooseheart Child City & School, a group home outside of Chicago. The Mooseheart community instilled in Darell the power of volunteerism and the importance of helping those less fortunate get a head start.
After attending community college and Ripon College, he helped lead the start-up of City Year Chicago. In 1996, Hammond read an article in the Washington Post about 2 young children dying after being trapped in an abandoned car while playing because there were no safe places for children to play in the community. Hammond changed that – he built a playground and started KaBOOM!, the DC-based, national non-profit to support building playgrounds in low-income communities across the U.S.
Under Hammond’s leadership as CEO, KaBOOM! has raised more than $200 million, rallied a million volunteers, led the hands-on construction of 2,000 playgrounds, and inspired a movement for the child’s right to play. In the early years, Hammond developed the first-rate public-private partnership model that makes the impossible possible with every community-built playground project. During a KaBOOM! playground build, the organization brings together local corporations, community groups, parents, teachers, and kids to design their dream playground. As a result, the community gains a gathering place and playground while it strengthens relationships and becomes more connected.
Hammond has won numerous national leadership awards and has been profiled in People, Washingtonian, Fortune, Fast Company and Worth magazines, the Non-Profit Times, the Chronicle on Philanthropy and Crain’s Chicago Business. He has also received the President’s Volunteer Service Award, the Jefferson Award for the Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, NYU Stern’s Satter Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award and most recently, the American Express NGen Leadership Award from the Independent Sector.
In addition to his work with KaBOOM!, Hammond has served on the Board of Directors of Hands on Network, Net Impact, Independent Sector, and CECP Advisory Board. In 2003 he was elected as an Ashoka Fellow for being a leader in social entrepreneurship. Hammond resides in Washington, DC with his wife Kate Becker.
