The Colorado Health Foundation and KaBOOM! Help Extend Childhood Through Play for Older Kids with a New Adventure Course in Trinidad
200 Community Volunteers Unite to Build an Innovative, Challenging Obstacle Course-like Experience for Kids of All Ages at The Las Animas County Fairgrounds
Volunteers from the community, Las Animas County, and The Colorado Health Foundation will join KaBOOM! on Saturday, June 8 to transform an empty site into a state-of-the-art Adventure Course in one day at the Las Animas County Fairgrounds. The new Adventure Course will help make play the easy choice, and extend childhood for older kids in Trinidad and surrounding areas.
Kids of all ages thrive when they have the opportunity to be kids and engage in play. Unfortunately, older kids or teens may often face challenges that can make it more difficult to get the activity they need. There’s the growing concern around violence in schools and communities many teens experience or are fearful of, while others may have additional responsibilities in the home while parents must work to make ends meet. These dynamics create inequitable access to play that disproportionately effects kids of color, forcing them to grow up faster and lose out on the last years of their childhood and the vital benefits of play.
Through this Adventure Course project, Las Animas County will work with The Colorado Health Foundation and KaBOOM! to make a difference for teens and older kids, providing a space where they can engage with their peers, enjoy a range of innovative and challenging activity options for kids, and ultimately have a safe space where they feel they belong.
In April, teens from the surrounding community came together to help decide how the existing space would be transformed, taking on leadership roles in the planning phase and in the process to bring about positive change in their community.
This Adventure Course is part of a broader effort led by The Colorado Health Foundation and KaBOOM! to ensure communities have great PLAYces for kids and families. Through this partnership, KaBOOM! and the Foundation are extending childhood through play by providing an engaging activity option that kids of all ages can enjoy. This investment in older kids shows that they matter and are supported by caring adults who want to ensure they too are getting play opportunities they need to grow up happy and healthy.
WHEN: Saturday, June 8
8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Kick-off ceremony
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Best viewing of Adventure Course construction
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Final construction phase
2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Ribbon-cutting ceremony
(Times approximate)
WHERE: The Las Animas County Fairgrounds
2200 North Linden Ave
Trinidad, CO 81082
WHO: Hundreds of community volunteers
Felix M. Lopez – District 1 Las Animas County Commissioner
Luis Lopez II – District 2 Las Animas County Commissioner
Tony C. Hass – District 3 Las Animas County Commissioner
About Community Partner
Las Animas County seeks to improve residents’ quality of life by providing cost-effective public services while fostering economic health, regional cooperation, and stewardship of community assets.
About Funding Partner
The Colorado Health Foundation is bringing health in reach for all Coloradans by engaging closely with communities across the state through investing, policy advocacy, learning and capacity building. For more information, please visit www.coloradohealth.org.
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 improve more than 17,000 playspaces, engage over 1.5 million volunteers and serve nearly 10 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
