Darell Hammond
Darell HammondCofounder and Chief Executive Officer
KaBOOM! In August 1995,
Darell Hammond noticed a small item in the Washington Post—two children in southeast Washington, DC had suffocated while playing in an abandoned car. Determined to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening in America again, Darell began a national campaign to support the right of every child in America to have safe, accessible places to play. As a result, he founded
KaBOOM! to address the need for leveraging partnerships between local communities and corporations to organize, raise a portion of funds, and volunteer time to build playgrounds. Studies show that kids who play do better in school, are healthier and more confident, and have better social skills. KaBOOM! has used this information to help communities build over 1,000 new playgrounds and improve even more existing playgrounds, providing more than a million at-risk children with a chance to explore creatively in a challenging, safe, play space. Darell points out that a community-built playground promotes collaboration among private citizens and business leaders and empowers the community to initiate further work, thus serving as a movement-building tool. He brings the spirit of community into all of his efforts to ensure that no child will ever feel unwanted, unappreciated, or unloved. “When we build a playground in a community, the community turns around and thanks us, but when a community does a build they turn around and thank each other.”
Darell takes great pride in his staff, as well as the corporate partners he has mobilized, the communities he has inspired, and the thousands of kids who now have fun, safe places to play. Darell’s work on behalf of KaBOOM! has led to extensive national recognition for the organization. In 2002, Worth magazine named KaBOOM! one of America’s 100 best charities and the Peter F. Drucker Foundation honored the organization’s annual training conference, the KaBOOM! Playground Institute, with a special innovation award. In 1999, Darell was one of five national winners of the “Making a Difference Award” by Diet Coke and was profiled in People magazine. In 2000, Crain’s Chicago Business named Darell one of their “40 under 40” for his innovative leadership.
For more on Darell Hammond:
24 Hour Fitness, KaBoom! Launch Houston Playground Project
By Monica Perin, Houston Business Journal
October 6, 2008
Imagination Playground Opens in Brownsville to Delight of Local Children
By Ayala Falk, Daily News
July 15, 2008
100th Playground Planned
Biloxi Sun Herald
June 8, 2008
Young People's Volunteering Discussed at Conference
By Christopher Quinn, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 3, 2008
Archive
