kaboom! 2014 earned media highlights

Select Coverage Highlights

January – December 2014

Thought Leadership

Overprotected Kids

By Jennifer Golbeck March 27, 2014

Most parents who today spend weekends shuttling kids from soccer to play dates to birthday parties are giving their children very different childhoods from their own. Just a few decades ago, most kids spent a great deal of time playing on their own, largely unsupervised. But from ultrasafe playgrounds to helicopter parenting, today's kids may be missing out on the freedom, risks and failure that once helped them to navigate the world later as adults. A new article in The Atlantic explores what today's parenting trends mean for kids' development.

April 1, 2014 CEO Darell Hammond was interviewed on Fox 25 Morning News in Boston. The Mattel/KaBOOM! “I Believe in Play” video was shown throughout the segment, and a number of KaBOOM! key initiatives and partners were touted by both Darell and the FOX 25 anchor, including Playful City USA and the Humana Foundation.

April 17, 2014 Good Day New York highlighted the benefits of play and the role of KaBOOM! in trying to solve the childhood obesity and stress problems. James did a great job in his interview, calling out the organizations’ mission to advocate for a healthy balance of play for all children. The segment also features b-roll of playgrounds in and around New York City that KaBOOM! has helped build.

James Siegal speaks to KaBOOM!, the organization’s shift in mission, and key POVs in an in-depth interview with Mark Oppenheim for the m/Oppenheim Associates Insight YouTube series.

Playful City USA Leaders’

Summit/ideas42

Playful City USA

Twitter Highlights

Play Together Tour

9/11 Day of Service

Over the course of the morning playground build, KaBOOM! was featured in 5 different segments on MY FOX DC highlighting the importance of play.

Sep 12th, 2014 The cast of the Today show recap how a girl volunteer told President Obama that when she heard a special guest was coming, she “really wanted it to be Beyonce.” The newscasters mention that they were packing backpacks for needy kids.

The story went viral across major online and broadcast media outlets, generating 63 articles with impressions totaling 280.5 million.

America’s Most Playful Family

CONTEST REWARDS NATION’S MOST PLAYFUL FAMILY March 10, 2014 KaBOOM!, a non-profit dedicated to helping children lead active and healthy lives, is on the lookout for America’s most playful family. Now through March 16, share stories and photos of the way your family stays active and earn your chance to win one of more than 1,000 prizes, including a trip for four to Walt Disney Land Resort.

Rigamajig Launch/Go Out and Play!

Collection

General KaBOOM! Coverage

11 Creative Ways to Volunteer By Damon Beres April 6, 2014 National Volunteer Week starts April 6, but plenty of organizations could use your help year-round. If you’re looking to donate your time or talents, see how you can set to work any skills you have—as diverse as singing, knitting, gaming, or even arm-wrestling—to make other lives better. KaBOOM! (kaboom.org): In some communities, fresh air and exercise are a luxury that kids can’t access. Enter KaBOOM!, an organization whose volunteers build and improve playgrounds around the United States. Representatives say over six million children have been served by these efforts, which focus on struggling neighborhoods and urban areas that lack green space.