At a time when 82 percent of parents believe children don’t spend enough time staying outside, the City of Wichita is being recognized for taking an innovative approach to make play a priority for the health and well-being of children. Wichita is among 93 cities and towns named as a 2009 “Playful City USA” community by KaBOOM!, a national non-profit organization dedicated to bringing play back into the lives of children. Wichita is also the very first Kansas community to receive this distinction.
Playful City USA recognition is based upon an application process where communities make five commitments: creating a local play commission or task force; designing an annual action plan for play; conducting a playspace audit of publicly accessible playspaces; identifying current spending on capital projects and maintenance of playspaces; and proclaiming and celebrating an annual “Play Day.”
“After attending my first National League of Cities conference, I heard about the Playful City Awards and I knew then that Wichita had what it takes to become and fit into that category,” says council member Lavonta Williams.” “Our Parks are beautiful and we are constantly looking for avenues to get and keep our community active and engaged.”
The newly formed Wichita Play Commission submitted the application and meets bi-monthly to discuss developments and share ideas. They also are working on building community partnerships with individuals and organizations that can help achieve our community goals and actions plans. (add link to Wichita Play Commission minutes)
For additional information on Playful City USA or KaBOOM! visit http://www.kaboom.org/.
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