Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. : Let's Play Celebrates One-Year Anniversary and Launches National Pledge to Get Kids and Families Active
04/26/2012| 08:15am US/Eastern
Recommend:
Join the Cause to Save Play and Take the "Let's Play Pledge" at Facebook.com/LetsPlay
More Than $3 Million in Let's Play Grants Available in 2012 to Build
or Fix Up Playgrounds
April marks the one-year anniversary of Let's Play, a community
partnership led by Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) to get kids and
families active nationwide. Looking forward to a new year, Let's Play
invites families to join the cause to save play by taking the "Let's
Play Pledge" at Facebook.com/LetsPlay.
Since its official launch in 2011, Let's Play - through DPS's
partnership with national nonprofit KaBOOM! - has built and improved 528
playgrounds through 484 grants and projects, giving more than 1.3
million children across North America access to a great place to play.
These playgrounds provide an indispensable place for kids to grow and
have fun, and give communities an important foundation to help families
establish sustainable active lifestyles.
"Within its first year, Let's Play impacted the lives of more than a
million children by providing them access to a great place to play - and
this is just the start," said Tina Barry, EVP of Corporate Affairs for
Dr Pepper Snapple Group. "We're launching the Let's Play Pledge to
involve more people than ever in our mission to get families active. We
encourage community members to take the Let's Play Pledge and apply for
the hundreds of grants we have available."
The Let's Play Pledge - now live at Facebook.com/LetsPlay
- challenges families everywhere to commit to keeping play alive. While
studies show that play is a critical component to a child's physical,
intellectual, social and emotional development, only one in five
children in the United States lives within a half-mile of a park or
playground. The Let's Play Pledge will serve to raise awareness of this
need to save play and motivate families to get involved. There are a
number of ways to participate - whether it's taking the Pledge on
Facebook, sending the message on to friends and family, joining the
Let's Play Community on LetsPlay.com,
or applying for a grant in your neighborhood, everyone can do their part
to play it forward.
"The Let's Play Pledge is a great way for families to contribute to our
shared goal: ensuring that every child in America has a great place to
play within walking distance," said Darell Hammond, CEO and founder of
KaBOOM!. "Let's Play helped KaBOOM! reach a new level of engagement with
local communities in 2011, and we are excited to continue to work
together for another impactful year."
In 2012, Let's Play is offering more than $3 million in playground
grants to communities across North America. Grants are available in
various sizes, ranging from $500 for playground completion projects to
$30,000 to help build brand new playgrounds from the ground up. The
grants are part of the first Let's Play initiative - a $15 million,
three-year commitment to KaBOOM!, the national nonprofit that's saving
play by ensuring there is a great place to play within walking distance
of every child. 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.
Learn more about the hundreds of playground grants available to
communities across North America at LetsPlay.com.
And join the movement to save play by taking the Let's Play Pledge on Facebook.com/LetsPlay.
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 Let's Play on Facebook at www.facebook.com/letsplay
or online at www.LetsPlay.com.
About Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) is the 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 9 of our 12
leading brands are No. 1 in their flavor categories. In addition to our
flagship Dr Pepper and Snapple brands, our portfolio includes Sunkist
soda, 7UP, A&W, Canada Dry, Crush, Mott's, Squirt, Hawaiian Punch,
Penafiel, Clamato, Schweppes, Venom Energy, Rose's and Mr & Mrs T
mixers. To learn more about our iconic brands and Plano, Texas-based
company, please visit www.drpeppersnapple.com.
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.
Ketchum for Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Alexandra Katich, 646-935-4375
alexandra.katich@ketchum.com
or
KaBOOM!
Mike
Vietti, 785-320-2137
mvietti@kaboom.org
© Business Wire 2012
Recommend :
