The Gift of Play Shared Across the Globe

​Kids Around the World and Little Tikes Commercial, two like‐minded organizations with a focus on bringing commercial‐grade playgrounds to places where families gather and play, are partnering to bring the gift of play to more children across the globe.

Play is one of the most inherent forms of self‐discovery and is essential to the development of all children. Research has proven that play helps children develop physically, socially, emotionally, and intellectually. The restorative power of play is a key strategy used in helping children recover and heal from challenging or traumatic events in life. Every child in the world intuitively understands the language of play, but not every child in the world has access to a safe environment to experience play.

For over four decades, Little Tikes Commercial has designed and manufactured innovative, commercial-grade play equipment for municipalities, school districts, and churches. Kids Around the World, a 501(c)(3) non‐profit organization, has been building playgrounds in war‐torn and impoverished communities in over 70 countries for nearly three decades. Kids Around the World’s mission is to help kids experience hope through play in orphanages, refugee camps, and poverty‐stricken communities worldwide. Through this new partnership, Little Tikes Commercial is committed to donating 5% of sales from a variety of the company's commercial‐grade playgrounds to Kids Around the World in support of its inspiring mission.

Kids Around the World identifies commercial playgrounds scheduled to be replaced in public parks and schools throughout the U.S. and disassembles, refurbishes and ships them overseas. Trained installers or mission teams soon follow to build these playgrounds in support of local partners on the ground that are invested in seeing kids thrive. This is the first time many of these children have ever seen a playground, climbed on a climber, slid down a slide or experienced the pure joy of swinging on a swing. Little Tikes Commercial is excited to help Kids Around the World bring the gift of play to more children and communities in need.

Repurposing and recycling playgrounds otherwise headed for a landfill breathes new life into these structures that will go on to bring the joy of play to a whole new group of children for decades to come.

Reflecting on this new partnership, Kids Around the World President Jim Rosene shared his excitement at the potential opportunity. “For 26 years, we’ve seen the dynamic impact that creating play environments can have on a child, and an entire community. When two organizations come together and combine efforts, like we are with Little Tikes Commercial, our ability to change the lives of kids is multiplied. This means hundreds of thousands more children globally will experience the restorative power of play.” He added, “The thought of bringing these special gifts of playgrounds to hurting communities is profound. What better way to help the world heal than by blessing our children with the simple joy of play.”

Brett Kidd, Vice President of Global Sales for Little Tikes Commercial, shared, “We are proud to partner with Kids Around the World to provide the remarkable gift of play. At Little Tikes Commercial, we believe that play allows children to learn fundamental life lessons through discovery and imagination. Our partnership with Kids Around the World will provide even more children worldwide an opportunity to experience the truly transformative power of play.”

To be a part of an international playground project, please contact Kids Around the World through its website at www.katw.net. For parks, schools or faith‐based organizations looking to build a commercial‐grade playground, please visit LittleTikesCommercial.com.

BACKGROUND:

For over four decades, Little Tikes Commercial, a division of PlayPower, Inc., has designed and manufactured innovative, commercial‐grade playground equipment for children of all ages and abilities in parks, municipalities, schools, housing associations, childcare centers and places of worship. Kids Around the World has been building playgrounds in war‐torn and impoverished communities in over 70 countries for 26 years, creating environments where kids can experience hope.