The Playful City USA program, sponsored by KaBOOM! and the Humana Foundation, serves to recognize communities that are working to address the “play deficit” in our country. The American Academy of Pediatrics indicates that play is a crucial activity for healthy brain development, creativity and imagination, dexterity and physical, and cognitive and emotional space. Yet, only one in five children live within walking distance to a park or playground, and this lack of access and opportunity can have profound consequences for our children: physically, socially and academically.

Within Holly, the Holly Outdoor Recreation Coalition (HollyORC), 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serves as the coordinating group for the program. Communities are selected through an application process that details the plans and accomplishments of addressing access to quality playgrounds, including partnerships with local schools, outreach and advocacy programs and building infrastructure.

In 2012, the HollyORC partnered with a wide variety of local community organizations and government groups to encourage children to play. Several dozen groups participated in Community Play Day in September, offering games and activities ranging from kayak simulators, disc-golf, hula-hoop contests and more for children and parents at Crapo Park in downtown Holly. More than 400 people attended the free, all-day event.

“The Playful City USA program really highlights that Holly is a family-friendly community and a wonderful place for children,” said Katy Hughes, HollyORC Trustee and community volunteer. “Being only one of two Michigan communities (Grand Rapids) to receive this designation is not only an honor, but a testament to the care and hard work of the community.”

This year, the Village of Holly has begun to review its master plan and vision for its parks and recreation offerings, and the HollyORC has been proud to partner and contribute to this effort that will enhance the quality of life for residents and the appeal of the Holly community to guests. The Playful City USA program

“The timing of the parks commission’s master plan review couldn’t have been better,” said Ryan Bladzik, Village of Holly President Pro-Tem and president of the HollyORC. “The Playful City USA program provides the perfect strategic framework for the Village to evaluate what resources we have, where we need to improve, and the way to achieving those goals. The cooperation and enthusiasm has been outstanding—everyone is excited about the future of our community.”

To celebrate its Playful City USA designation and reinforce the need for play in the community, the HollyORC will host Community Play Day, a fun day of field games and outdoor activities at Crapo Park in downtown Holly on September 14, 2013.

For more information on the KaBOOM! Playful City USA programs, please visit www.playfulcityusa.org.

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The Holly Outdoor Recreation Coalition is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation based in Holly, Mich., that advocates for and works to improve the outstanding outdoor recreation and play facilities within the Northwest Oakland County community. The HollyORC is the coordinating organization for the Playful City USA program in the Holly community. Find us online at www.hollyorc.org.

Holly, Mich. — For the second straight year, the Holly community has been named as a “Playful City USA” by the national non-profit organization KaBoom!, and is one of only three Michigan communities designated (including Grand Rapids and first-time nominee Luther).

Today’s children spend less time playing outside than any previous generation, in part because only 1 in 5 live within walking distance to a park or playground. The resulting play deficit is having profound consequences for kids physically, socially and academically.

The Playful City USA designation recognizes communities that commit to creating and improving opportunities for play within the community, which has been recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics as a crucial activity for healthy brain development, creativity and imagination, dexterity and physical, cognitive and emotional space.

KaBoom!, the national non-profit organization dedicated to saving play, created Playful City USA in 2007 to help local governments and organizations address the play deficit through a collaborative, community-wide approach. The Holly Outdoor Recreation Coalition (HollyORC), a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, is the coordinating organization for the Holly area.

“Maintaining our status as a Playful City USA is an outstanding reflection on the commitment of the Holly community,” said Holly Township Supervisor and HollyORC Vice President Jesse Lambert. “Playful City USA has been a great part of improving Holly’s quality of life.

Playful City USA communities are required to analyze and map their opportunities for play and identify areas for community investment for improvement, focusing on the quality, quantity and accessibility of play spaces. In the past year, the HollyORC has partnered with local governments and organizations to increase access to public recreation facilities to encourage year-round play for families and children.

“One of the greatest byproducts of the program has been seeing the walls, lines and silos among governments and organizations begin to disappear. The cooperation and investment of local businesses, organizations and governments toward a common goal of play has been overwhelming,” said HollyORC President Ryan Bladzik.

To celebrate its Playful City USA designation and reinforce the need for play in the community, the HollyORC hosts Community Play Day, a fun day of field games and outdoor activities at Crapo Park in downtown Holly. The 2011 Community Play Day attracted nearly 500 attendees throughout the day, with support from the Holly Area Community Coalition, the North Oakland County Fire Authority, Morgan’s Boutique of Holly, Spicer’s Orchards of Fenton, and Crossings Community. The 2012 Community Play Day will be on Saturday, September 15.

For more information on the KaBoom! Playful City USA programs, please visit www.playfulcityusa.org.

“We’re excited to partner with a premiere outfitter like The North Face to help advocate for Holly’s outstanding recreation facilities, ” said Holly ORC president Ryan Bladzik. “The Planet Explore community is a great way to connect Holly with people from the region, State of Michigan, and nationwide.”

Planet Explore offers an online portal and calendar of events, ranging from fun activities to volunteer opportunities, and members can receive updates and search for activities in their area or where they might be traveling. User uploads like photos, videos and blogs create a personal connection with the outdoors and inspire young and old to get outside and experience nature.

“Partnering with Planet Explore is the logical next step for making Holly a destination for outdoor enthusiasts,” said Holly Township Supervisor Jesse Lambert, who is also vice president of the Holly ORC. “There isn’t a better nation-wide community than Planet Explore.”

Learn more about Planet Explore and sign up for the community at www.planetexplore.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With only 1-in-5 children in the U.S. currently living within walking distance of a park or playground, 151 cities and towns, including Holly, earned recognition from national non-profit KaBOOM! as 2011 Playful City USA communities for their efforts to increase play opportunities for children.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, play is important to healthy brain development and allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Today’s children spend less time playing outside than any previous generations in part because only 20-percent live within walking distance of a park or playground. This Play Deficit is having profound consequences for kids physically as well as mentally and socially because children need a place to play every day in order to be active and healthy.

A key platform in combating the Play Deficit is Playful City USA, a national program advocating for local policies that increase play opportunities for children. KaBOOM!, the national non-profit organization dedicated to saving play, created Playful City USA in 2007 to help local governments address the Play Deficit by ensuring their children have the time and space they need to play.

“Becoming a Playful City USA is a great honor and achievement for Holly,” said Holly Township Supervisor Jesse Lambert, who is also the vice-president of the Holly Outdoor Recreation Coalition (HORC), who worked with the Village of Holly, Holly Township, their respective parks boards, and Holly Area Schools to apply for this project. “The benefits to our play areas and parks is magnified by the fact that this is a true, collaborative effort across municipalities and organizations.”

Hailing from 38 states and one territory, the 151 Playful City USA honorees range in size from five-time honorees such as Atlanta and San Francisco to first-time recipient Gypsum, Colo. (population: 4,000). These Playful City USA communities are making a commitment to play and physical activity by developing unique local action plans to increase the quantity and quality of play in their community. In doing so, some of the most innovative concepts and cost-effective programs are being developed in Playful City USA communities.

In the fifth year of the annual program, 19 Playful City USA communities received recognition for the fifth consecutive year, while 24 earned honors for the fourth time, 29 for the third time, 30 for the second time and 49 claimed their first Playful City USA designation.

For the fourth consecutive year, Florida paced the nation with 20 Playful City USA communities. California earned second-place with 14 communities after sharing runner-up honors with Arizona in 2009 and 2010. Arizona finished third with 11 Playful City USA communities.

Each of the 2011 Playful City USA communities demonstrated creative commitments to addressing the Play Deficit.Playful CityUSAcelebrates and highlights these unique initiatives developed by communities across the country. A primary goal ofPlayful CityUSA is to encourage cities and towns to share creative ideas, concepts and programs in an effort to increase play opportunities for children. City initiatives include:

KaBOOM! also selected Holly for its outstanding dedication to play. Holly developed an Action Plan that includes a number of tangible projects to increase access to play. The town identified areas where they could improve and expand playspaces and will tackle this work in the next year.

“As we were developing our action plan, some deficiencies in our play facilities really began to stand out,” said Ryan Bladzik, HORC president. “The Playful City USA task force did an outstanding job in identifying these, as well as coming up with some doable solutions.”

The 151 Playful City USA communities are now eligible for grants via Let’s Play – a community partnership led by Dr Pepper Snapple Group to get kids active nationwide. The first Let’s Play initiative is a $15 million, three-year commitment to KaBOOM!. 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.

Recipients of 2011 Let’s Play grants via the Playful City USA program will be announced on Monday, Sept. 19. A total of 103 grants worth $2.1 million are available to Playful City USA recognized cities and towns between 2011-13. Grants range in values of $30,000, $20,000 and $15,000. The $30,000 and $15,000 grants are available for projects relating to joint-use agreements and the $20,000 grants will be awarded to cities using the community playground build process. Cities also are eligible to receive multiple grants during the three-year period. Dr Pepper Snapple Group, a member of the leadership circle within the KaBOOM! National Partner Program, is providing the funding for the grants.

“The Play Deficit continues to harm our children and stifle their mental and physical development, while directly facilitating the ongoing childhood obesity crisis,” said Darell Hammond, KaBOOM! Founder and CEO and author of The New York Times Best Seller KaBOOM!: How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play. “These 151 Playful City USA communities have joined KaBOOM! in making a collective statement that we will no longer accept the misconception that play is a luxury when the reality is that play is an absolute necessity for children. Holly is committed to the well-being of children and serves as an outstanding role model for the rest of America as we continue to strive toward the KaBOOM! vision of a great place to play within walking distance of every child.”

For more information on the KaBOOM! Playful City USA program, including Let’s Play grants and applications for 2012 and a list of the 2011 Playful City USA recipients, visit www.kaboom.org/playfulcityusa.

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! 15 years ago 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 85,000 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.

About the Holly Outdoor Recreation Coalition

The Holly Outdoor Recreation Coalition (HORC) is a non-profit organization based in Holly, Mich., that promotes outdoor recreation and activities; health and wellness; education and conservation of natural resources; and small-town community building through rural advocacy in Northwest Oakland County. The HORC partners with area leaders, governments and organizations to enhance the quality of outdoor activities and recreation facilities with the guiding principles of being action-oriented, cooperative and utilizing strength in numbers. For more information, visit www.hollyorc.org.

The “Adopt-a-Park” program is managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment and allows local volunteer organizations or groups to work on park-related projects. After 400 manhours of volunteer work are logged, the volunteer group receives a posted sign recognizing their achievements.

In the Holly community, the Holly Recreation Area has been adopted by the Friends of the Holly Recreation Area, and the Holdridge Lakes Mountain Biking Trails have been adopted by the Flint Chapter of the Michigan Mountain Biking Association.

“When visiting our local state parks, we noticed that there wasn’t a group that had (yet) stepped up to ‘adopt’ Seven Lakes State Park,” said Ryan Bladzik, president of the Holly Outdoor Recreation Coalition. “Seven Lakes is an outstanding park, and we saw it as a great opportunity to better connect the park with the community.”

Seven Lakes State Park has more than 230 acres, including 70 camping sites, kayak/canoe/boat launches, modern restrooms, sandy beaches and playgrounds. There are more than 5 miles of trails suitable for running, hiking and cross-country skiing.

The Holly Outdoor Recreation Coalition and Seven Lakes State Park is currently working on an action plan and volunteer project dates, which will be posted at www.hollyorc.org.