City of Atlanta Wins Playful City USA for the Third Consecutive Year

Seed Newsvine

8/3/09 For the third consecutive year, KaBOOM!, a national non-profit dedicated to bringing play back into children’s lives, has named the City of Atlanta a Playful City USA community.

The City of Atlanta is one of 93 communities across the nation that has taken innovative approaches to make play a priority and ensure that children have the time and space they need to play. Despite the down economy, the City of Atlanta supports its communities in building and maintaining play spaces and developing programming to meet the needs of the community.

“This is an honor for the City of Atlanta to be recognized three years in row for our dedication to play, “says the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Commissioner Dianne Harnell Cohen. “We are proud to provide the residents and visitors play spaces to enjoy throughout the City of Atlanta.”

The Atlanta Taskforce on Play (ATOP) was instrumental in working with City of Atlanta in demonstrating creative commitments to the cause of play. “The freedom to play in a beautiful, safe, fun, clean, creative environment is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children,” says ATOP Founder Cynthia Gentry.

The City of Atlanta and ATOP will host the City of Atlanta’s second annual Great Atlanta PLAY DAY on September 26, 2009;  a day where people will turn off their TVs, shut down their computers and go outside to play.