Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report

McKeesport is among more than 200 cities across the United States in line for a grant for a new playground from the non-profit group "KaBOOM!"

City officials and the Washington, D.C., based group said McKeesport has been named one of America's 2013 "Playful City USA" communities for its effort to "give children the childhood they deserve by providing ample opportunities for play."

The recognition makes McKeesport eligible for a grant for playground renovations from Let's Play, a community partnership led by Dr Pepper Snapple Group to get kids and families active nationwide.

Other Pennsylvania communities honored were Allentown, Bethlehem, Factoryville, Indiana, Pittsburgh, Reading and York.

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The Playful City USA program will award 28 grants of $20,000 each to cities and non-profit organizations for the purchase of playground equipment, while relying on volunteers for construction.

Sponsored by the Humana Foundation, Playful City USA is a national program from KaBOOM! that celebrates and promotes local policies that increase play opportunities for children and is a key platform in combating the lack of play among children.

The program also will award $15,000 grants to support the opening of at least four playgrounds in cities with populations of less than 100,000 people.

If McKeesport receives a KaBOOM! or Playful City USA grant, officials are eying a complete renovation of a playground in the Highland Grove neighborhood, as well as upgrades to other facilities, a spokeswoman for Mayor Michael Cherepko said.

The mayor's assistant Annette James said the city was recognized for the wide variety of civic, community and non-profit groups --- ranging from churches and the LaRosa Boys & Girls Club through the recreation board --- that are working together to provide opportunities for kids to play together.

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KaBOOM! was created in 1996 to encourage kids to get physical exercise outdoors, said Darell Hammond, the group's founder and CEO. "Children spend nearly eight hours a day in front of a screen, almost half of all poor students are deprived of recess, and to make matters worse, only one in five children live within walking distance of a park."

Each of the 2013 Playful City USA communities demonstrated creative commitments to addressing the lack of play among children, he said.

Communities such as McKeesport, Hammond said, "are creating innovative programs and initiatives and deserve recognition because of their efforts to give kids the childhood they deserve and best prepare them for their future."

Grant recipients will be announced in the fall. More than 2,200 playgrounds have been funded across the U.S. with support from KaBOOM!, a spokesperson for the group said.