The Saco Playground Committees efforts in promoting unstructured play for today's youth while working to replace aging playground infrastructure within the City.

1. Artwork provided by local Saco students at Play Day 2011

2. Brief History
The Committee was formed by the Parks &
Recreation Department in April 2011
Summer 2011 completed a playground audit of all
City owned playgrounds
September 2011 received the national recognition
as a Playful City USA
October 2011 received one of five $15,000
national Let’s Play Grants

3. About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to saving play.
Children today spend less time playing outdoors and, to fight
this Play Deficit, Darell Hammond founded the non-profit
KaBOOM! 15 years ago with a vision of creating a great place
to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since
then, KaBOOM! has built more than 2,000 playgrounds, and
successfully advocated for play policies in hundreds of cities
across the country.

4. What is it?
“Playful City USA is the only national
designation recognizing cities and towns that
value the importance of play. Created in 2007
by the national non-profit KaBOOM!, As of
2012 151 communities in 36 states have been
recognized for implementing local action plans
committed to reversing the Play Deficit facing
this country.”

5. What does the Playful City Recognition mean for Saco?
1. Saco was the first community in Maine to receive the national recognition in 2011.
2. The City of Saco is included in a national ad campaign
3. We are now 1 of only 151 community’s nationwide eligible in 2.1 million dollars in grant awards.
4. We can use this opportunity to promote awareness on the importance of play in a child’s
development.
5. During our year of recognition the Playground Committee will be working on 12 Action Items for
Play.
6. These action items include such things as completing an inventory of all play spaces maintained by
the City to connecting residents with play and open spaces within their own neighborhoods.
7. As studies indicate children and adults both spend less and less time outdoors. A major goal of
this national initiative by KaBOOM! is to change this and the City of Saco is proud to play our part.

6. The Playground Committee held our Play Day Event in
conjunction with Saco Spirit’s Pumpkin Harvest Festival.
The purpose of this is to bring awareness to the local community
on the importance of unstructured play in a child's life.

9. Peter Harrison, principal at Young
School, said the playground is not
just used by his students, but is
also “a community gathering place”
and “a popular spot all four
seasons.”
He said while the Parks and
Recreation Department has “done
a great job keeping the aged
structure safe, it’s now time for it to
be replaced.”

11. Item Description Estimated Cost
Site Preparation remove existing swings, perimeter drainage & landscaping $ 1,200
Playground Main Structure New structure to replace 21 year old pressure treated wood structure $ 35,000
Swing Set 3 Bay swing set for a total of 6 swings $ 2,500
Peripheral Play Elements Stand alone play elements such as climbing & challenge structures $ 15,000
Playground Surfacing 12" depth of engineered wood fibers $ 2,300
Sign Custom sign for contact info, rules, & sponsor recognition $ 1,000
Fencing Fencing along Tasker & North Streets $ 8,000
Total Cost of New Community Playground $ 65,000

12. Young School Playground
was awarded a $15,000 Grant!
WE’RE ON OUR WAY!
In November 2011, the Young School Playground Project
received one of five $15,000 national Let’s Play grants
courtesy of the non-profit KaBOOM!, Let’s Play and the Dr
Pepper Snapple Group. This process was truly
inspiring as the Saco community came together and not only
earned our project one of the five national grants, but received
the most votes overall in the Facebook
voting contest to decide the grant recipients, beating out large
cities such as Atlanta, Georgia and Honolulu, Hawaii.

13. Thanks to All of Our
Current Sponsors!
As we wrap up our fundraising initiative, we are thankful to these
donors for supporting our Playground Project.
Biddeford & Saco
Rotary Club
SeeSaw Level
Sandbox Level
James L. Audiffred, Attorney-at-Law
Swingset Level
Slide Level
Playground Level
Example of
potential sign.
Sign will be
installed next to
the playground
entrance and will
acknowledge
sponsors of the
project.
Saco Bay
Rotary Club
C.K. Burns
School PTO
Young School
PTO
The Eleanor Clare Paye
Charitable Fund

14. The KaBOOM! time
tested community-
build model is as
much about building
playgrounds as it is
about building
communities.
The KaBOOM! community-build model
enables diverse groups of volunteers to
collaborate towards a collective cause—
the well-being of children—by completing
a tangible product—a new playground—in
a fixed time period—one day—that will
make an immediate and lasting difference
for decades to come.