Danville now holds the distinction of being one of only two communities in the Commonwealth of Virginia to have earned the Playful City USA designation. This year’s recognition marks the seventh consecutive time Danville has been honored.
The KaBOOM! Playful City USA program, sponsored by the Humana Foundation, recently honored Danville along with 211 other cities, towns and communities across America that also are taking bold steps to ensure that all children, especially the 16 million American kids living in poverty, have easy access to balanced and active play in their communities. Hopewell is the only other community in the state nominated.
“This is a big deal to us,” said Bill Sgrinia, director of Parks and Recreation. “To be given this distinction proves that Danville is serious about play. We want Danville to be happy and healthy, and we believe play is the vehicle that drives our citizens toward that goal.”
According to a release from KaBOOM! The communities to receive the nod are “leaders in playability – the extent to which a city makes it easy for kids to get balanced and active play – and are making play part of the solution that can move the needle on countless urban challenges.”
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.
"With the tremendous support of our friends at Humana Foundation, 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," says 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!."
The Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that “play is essential to the social, emotional, cognitive and physical well-being of children.”
Danville was recognized for its community-wide dedication to provide play opportunities for the community.
For more information, contact Bill Sgrinia, director of Parks and Recreation at sgrinwo@ci.danville.va.us or 799-5200.
For more information on the KaBOOM! Playful City USA program, visit www.playfulcityusa.org.
