BEATTYVILLE AWARDED $20,000 LET’S PLAY GRANT FROM DR PEPPER SNAPPLE GROUP AND NATIONAL NON-PROFIT KaBOOM! AFTER BEING NAMED PLAYFUL CITY USA COMMUNITY
BEATTYVILLE, June 4, 2012 – Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) and national non-profit KaBOOM! awarded Beattyville, KY $20,000 Let’s Play City Construction Grant as announced Monday, June 4, 2012. Beattyville received the grant because it was selected as a 2012 Playful City USA community by KaBOOM! on May 1 and will use the grant to build a new playground with community involvement.
The grant is part of Let’s Play, a community partnership led by Dr Pepper Snapple Group to get kids and families active nationwide. In 2011, as part of Let’s Play, Dr Pepper Snapple Group made a $15 million, three-year commitment to KaBOOM!, the national non-profit saving play by ensuring there is a great place to play within walking distance of every child. Together through Let’s Play, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM! will build or fix up 2,000 playgrounds by the end of 2013, benefiting an estimated five million children across North America.
Beattyville applied for 2012 Playful City USA recognition and also submitted a Let’s Play grant application to
Dr Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM! Beattyville was selected as one of 25 Playful City USA communities to receive a Let’s Play City Construction Grant among the 213 communities that earned Playful City USA status in 2012. Playful City USA is a national program advocating for local policies that increase play opportunities for children. KaBOOM! created Playful City USA in 2007 to help local governments address the play deficit among children and it is through mayors, city council members, parks and recreation departments, school districts and community leaders that the program succeeds in benefitting children.
The City of Beattyville has a mission to anticipate and provide for the needs of the community though quality service, innovation and leadership for today and in the future. It is difficult being proactive and innovative when planning for the future, so the city also relies on individuals in the community to make aware of issues of importance. In this climate of increasing change, The City of Beattyville strives to the best of their ability to provide quality service to the citizens so they feel safe and secure while encouraging positive attitudes and strong work ethics for their administration to make a difference in the community. Recently a citizen attended the city council meeting and approached the council about the need for better playground equipment. This set the ball rolling for this construction project.
The City of Beattyville will be using the $20,000 Let’s Play City Constitution Grant to update the playground equipment in the Beattyville City Park. With this grant funding and a group of volunteers, the City of Beattyville can purchase and install updated playground equipment to the 10 year old city park located downtown next to the Kentucky River. Beattyville is currently seeking assistance from volunteers to help in the completion of the contraction project guidelines set by KaBOOM! If you would like to be a volunteer register online by going to www.ourdreamplayground.org and find the listing for the Beattyville City Park Construction Project. You can also contact Sandy Lumpkins at (606) 464-5007 or Dedra Brandenburg at (606) 464-5038 for more information.
Unstructured, child-directed play has been proven to help kids develop physically, socially and cognitively, yet today’s kids have less time and fewer opportunities to play than any previous generation. Through Let’s Play grants and projects in 2011, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM! built or improved 528 playgrounds, benefitting an estimated 1.3 million children during the lifetime of the playgrounds. People are encouraged to visit Let’s Play at www.LetsPlay.com to join the conversation and learn how to apply for the various available grants to make their communities more active and playful.
About Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) is a leading producer of flavored beverages in North America and the Caribbean. Our success is fueled by more than 50 brands that are synonymous with refreshment, fun and flavor. We have 6 of the top 10 non-cola soft drinks, and 11 of our 14 leading brands are No. 1 in their flavor categories. In addition to our flagship Dr Pepper and Snapple brands, our portfolio includes 7UP, A&W, Canada Dry, Clamato, Crush, Hawaiian Punch, Peñafiel, Mott’s, Mr & Mrs T mixers, Rose’s, Schweppes, Squirt and Sunkist Soda. To learn more about our iconic brands and Plano, Texas-based company, please visit DrPepperSnapple.com. For our latest news and updates, follow us at Facebook.com/DrPepperSnapple or Twitter.com/DrPepperSnapple.
About Let’s Play
Let’s Play is a community partnership led by Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) to get kids and families active nationwide. The first Let’s Play initiative is a $15 million, three-year commitment to KaBOOM!, the national non-profit that’s saving play. Together, through Let’s Play, DPS and KaBOOM! will build or fix up 2,000 playgrounds by the end of 2013, benefiting an estimated five million children across North America. For more information, visit LetsPlay.com or Facebook.com/LetsPlay.
About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to saving play. Children today spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation, a fact that is having disastrous consequences on their health, achievement levels, and overall well-being. To fight this play deficit, social entrepreneur Darell Hammond founded non-profit KaBOOM! in 1996 in Washington, D.C. with a vision of creating a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since then, KaBOOM! has mapped over 89,000 places to play, built more than 2,000 playgrounds, and successfully advocated for play policies in hundreds of cities across the country. KaBOOM! also provides communities with online tools to self-organize and take action to support play on both a local and national level. Hammond chronicles the founding of the organization and the importance of the cause of play in his The New York Times Best Seller KaBOOM!: How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play. The book details how businesses and communities can work together to save play for children across the country. All author proceeds support KaBOOM!. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.