Disneyland continues to transform the community of Anaheim by teaming with KaBOOM! to build the eighth playground in the same city as the theme park. With 300 volunteers from Disney VoluntEARs, KaBOOM!, Girl Scouts, and the City of Anaheim, Imperial Park was open to reach over a thousand kids in the community. Below is the official press release from the event.
ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Today, more than 1,200 kids now have a great new place to play at Imperial Park (450 S. Imperial Highway) in Anaheim. More than 300 volunteers from the City of Anaheim (@City_of_Anaheim), Girl Scouts of Orange County (@girlscoutsoc), and area residents joined organizers from KaBOOM! (@kaboom) and Disney VoluntEARS (@CitizenDisney) to transform an aging playground into a new, kid-designed play space, in fewer than eight hours.
“When people come together, good things happen,” Mayor Tom Tait said. “In a matter of a few hours, volunteers from across Anaheim brought a new play space to Imperial Park. Now the kids and families of this neighborhood can come together and, in the process, forge a more connected community. That is the vital role our parks play, and I want to thank everyone for their work building a stronger community.”
“The Disneyland Resort has been devoted to supporting our community for more than 60 years,” said Michael Colglazier, president of the Disneyland Resort. “By investing in our eighth KaBOOM! playground in just seven years, we are more dedicated than ever to securing a bright future for Anaheim’s children and families.”
“We are thrilled to join Disney, the City of Anaheim and KaBOOM in bringing this fun new play space to Imperial Park. This collaboration aligns beautifully with our focus on helping girls take action that has a sustainable impact,” said Nancy Nygren, CEO of Girl Scouts of Orange County. “Every day, in both big and small ways, Girl Scouts use the G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader) within to take action and build a better world for us all.”
Since 1996, KaBOOM! has been dedicated to the goal of ensuring that all children get the balanced and active play they need to thrive because #PlayMatters. The new Imperial Park playground is one of many made possible with support from Disney as part of The Walt Disney Company Healthy Living Commitment, a long-standing pledge to create healthier generations by making healthy living fun and simple. The playground design was inspired by children’s drawings created at a recent special event. Their ideas were then incorporated into the final design.Disneyland Resort plans to build four more Anaheim playgrounds in collaboration with KaBOOM! within the next three years.
Research shows that play is central to a child’s ability to grow into a productive adult. KaBOOM! works to accelerate efforts that move every child in America to play every day. Together, Disney and KaBOOM! have built more than 75 new play spaces across America giving nearly 100,000 kids access to healthier lifestyles and safe places to play and grow.
