11th Disney-sponsored KaBOOM! Playground in Anaheim Coming to Barton Park on Jan. 26
More than 300 volunteers from the Disneyland Resort, city of Anaheim and Anaheim Family YMCA will join KaBOOM! on Saturday, Jan. 26 to transform an empty site into a playground with accessible play features for children with disabilities in just six hours at Barton Park in Anaheim. The new playground is the 11th Disney-sponsored KaBOOM! playground in Anaheim, and will be Anaheim’s first ramped playground for children with disabilities.
The unique equipment and accessibility features allow children to play together regardless of ability. Numerous features also were included with the visually impaired community in mind. Play is essential to the physical, creative, cognitive, social and emotional development of every child.
The idea of adding accessible play features to this playground came from Disneyland Resort cast members in the CastABLE diversity resource group. CastABLE is one of several diversity resource groups at the Disneyland Resort that makes sure the experiences that Disneyland Resort provides are inclusive and relevant.
In September, children from the surrounding community, including students at Barton Elementary School, came together to envision and draw their dream playground. The playground is based off their drawings and will provide more than 650 kids in Anaheim with a great, safe place to play.
This playground is one of many made possible with support from Disney, as part of The Walt Disney Company’s commitment to creating healthier generations by bringing the gift of active play to kids and families who need it most.
About the City of Anaheim
Anaheim is a full-service city supporting more than 358,000 residents, 20,000 businesses and 25 million annual visitors. The city provides public safety through the Anaheim Police Department and Anaheim Fire & Rescue, water and power service through Anaheim Public Utilities, parks, community centers, family services and libraries through Anaheim Community Services, neighborhood and transportation improvements through Anaheim Public Works and community revitalization through Community & Economic Development. Anaheim is a modern, diverse city with a proud history dating back to its 1857 founding. Anaheim is known worldwide as the home of the Disneyland Resort, including Walt Disney’s original Disneyland Park, as well as Angel Stadium of Anaheim and Angels Baseball, Honda Center and the Anaheim Ducks, and the Anaheim Convention Center, the largest on the West Coast. Anaheim’s thriving visitor industry and business community help support the city’s neighborhoods and make Anaheim a great place to live, work and play. For more, please see www.anaheim.net.
About the Anaheim Family YMCA
The Y is one of the nation’s leading nonprofits strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. The Anaheim Family YMCA was founded in 1911 and currently impacts nearly 20,000 youth, teens and adults in Anaheim, Cypress, Stanton and La Palma. YMCA programs span from early childhood education, after-school, youth sports, swim, summer camps, summer learning, S.T.E.M. enrichment, healthy living and wellness, volunteerism and community service. For more information about the Anaheim Family YMCA’s programs and resources please visit www.anaheimymca.org.
About the Disneyland Resort
Located on approximately 500 acres in Anaheim, Calif., the Disneyland Resort features two spectacular theme parks – Disneyland (the original Disney theme park) and Disney California Adventure park – plus the Downtown Disney District comprised of unique dining, entertainment and shopping experiences. The Resort’s three hotels are the 948-room Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, the 973-room Disneyland Hotel and the 481-room Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. With 30,000 cast members, the Disneyland Resort is Orange County’s largest employer and generates $5.7 billion for the Southern California economy. The Resort has welcomed more than 800 million guests since opening on July 17, 1955.
About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to giving all kids – especially those living in poverty – the childhood they deserve through great, safe places to play. KaBOOM! inspires communities to make play the easy choice and works to drive the national discussion about the importance of PLAYces. KaBOOM! has collaborated with partners to build or restore more than 17,000 playspaces, engaged more than 1.5 million volunteers and served over 9 million kids. To learn why play matters for all kids, visit kaboom.org and join the conversation at twitter.com/kaboom, facebook.com/kaboom and instagram.com/kaboom. #playmatters #PLAYceforKids
