Darell Hammond
Encyclopedia
Darell Hammond is an American philanthropist
, founder and chief executive officer
of the non-profit organization
KaBOOM!
that helps communities build playgrounds for children. Very active in running the company, Hammond also speaks at conferences and universities about his work and blog
s on The Huffington Post
. Hammond, who from the age of four enjoyed a happy childhood in a group home
founded by Moose International
, began building playgrounds in college, founding KaBOOM! with a friend in 1996. He has received multiple honors and awards for his work, including the President's Volunteer Service Award
. In 2011, Hammond released his best-selling memoir, KaBOOM! How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play.
to a nursing home employee and a truck driver, Hammond is the second to the youngest of eight children. Two years after Hammond's father abandoned the family, Hammond's mother had a breakdown and found herself unable to take care of the children, and they were sent as wards of the court
to the Mooseheart Child City & School
, a group home in Mooseheart, Illinois
. During the 14 happy years he spent at the home before achieving the age of majority
, he enjoyed his experiences on the group home's playground, and in his junior year at Ripon College
first took part in helping to build a community playground, assisting the mother of a friend.
The dyslexic Hammond did not complete college, but relocated to Chicago as part of an Urban Studies Fellowship through the Associated Colleges of the Midwest
. There, he studied under Dr. John Kretzmann, director of the Assets Based Community Development Institute in the Northwestern University
in Evanston
, Illinois
. The institute, which focuses on mobilizing struggling communities using resources already at hand, would later serve as a community-build model for KaBOOM! After seeing the influence of the playground he had helped build on its community, Hammond also participated in the Columbus
, Ohio
, and Chicago
engagements of City Year
, an AmeriCorps
program seeking to build democracy through citizen service and social entrepreneurship.
, Hammond read a story in The Washington Post
about two local children who suffocated while playing in an abandoned car because they had nowhere else to play. This, combined with his prior experiences, inspired Hammond and his friend Dawn Hutchison to address the need for playgrounds for children. The pair were already committed to designing a day of service for Youth Service America
and chose to build their first playground at Livingston Manor in southeast Washington, D.C. The project, which involved over 500 volunteers, took five days in October, 1995.
Inspired by the build, Hammond and Hutchison incorporated KaBOOM! in April 1996, though Hutchison would remain with the new organization for only a year. Hammond became the organization's CEO. When their initial outreach attempts to non-profit foundations proved unsuccessful, they turned to and found support from businesses, beginning with The Home Depot
. With the assistance of the business community and Hillary Clinton, who donated money from the sale of her book It Takes a Village
, KaBOOM! built 38 playgrounds in 1997. By 2002, the number had risen to 441, and KaBOOM!'s largest corporate partners included The Home Depot, Nike
, Target
, Computer Associates and Sprint
. By 1 October 2010, the organization had completed 1,869 playgrounds.
Hammond remained active in the organization, frequently visiting playground sites under construction or renovation by KaBOOM! around the United States and, in 2000, convincing ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry's
to create the company's first flavor to be named after a non-profit organization, with an appeal for participation written on the label of the new Kaberry KaBOOM! and different incentives provided around the United States. After hurricanes Katrina
and Rita
devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, Hammond pledged to provide 100 playgrounds in the region, a goal he and KaBOOM! surpassed, with 136 playgrounds built as of early September 2010. In 2007, Money
magazine indicated that Hammond spent "75% of his work life attending builds, wooing donors, speaking at conferences, and trying to persuade lawmakers of the social value of play." Hammond also attends conferences and universities as a speaker
to discuss his work. In addition, he is a blog
ger at The Huffington Post.
by Rodale, Inc., the book reached The New York Times
best-selling list for "Hardcover Nonfiction" in May, 2011, at #4. The book traces Hammond's life from childhood to CEO.
honored Hammond in 1999 as one of five winners of its national "Making a Difference Award". Hammond was named among the "40 Under 40" by Crain's Chicago Business. Hammond was elected to the Fellowship of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
in 2003. In 2004, he was named among the "Power and Influence Top 50" by Non-Profit Times. In 2008, Hammond was honored by the Jefferson Awards for Public Service
for "Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged" and by the New York University Stern School of Business
with its "Satter Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award". In 2010, Hammond received the first American Express
NGen Leadership Award, given to recognize professionals under 40 in the nonprofit sector who have had a transformative impact on a socially critical issue, and was also honored by the Washington Business Journal
among its "40 Under 40" to recognize "the Washington region's brightest young business leaders". In 2008, Ripon University bestowed upon him an honorary degree
.
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, founder and chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
KaBOOM!
KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is an American non-profit organization that helps communities build playgrounds for children.-History:Darell Hammond and Dawn Hutchison founded KaBOOM! in 1996. They were inspired to start KaBOOM! after reading a story in The Washington Post about two local children who suffocated while...
that helps communities build playgrounds for children. Very active in running the company, Hammond also speaks at conferences and universities about his work and blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s on The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
. Hammond, who from the age of four enjoyed a happy childhood in a group home
Group home
A group home is a private residence designed or converted to serve as a non-secure home for unrelated persons who share a common characteristic.-Types of group homes:...
founded by Moose International
Moose International
Moose International is a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888, consisting of the Loyal Order of Moose, with nearly 1 million men in roughly 2,400 Lodges, in all 50 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces, plus Great Britain and Bermuda; and the Women of the Moose with more than...
, began building playgrounds in college, founding KaBOOM! with a friend in 1996. He has received multiple honors and awards for his work, including the President's Volunteer Service Award
President's Volunteer Service Award
The President's Volunteer Service Award program was established to honor volunteers that give hundreds of hours per year helping others. These volunteers can be individuals, families and organizations located throughout the United States....
. In 2011, Hammond released his best-selling memoir, KaBOOM! How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play.
Early life
Born in Jerome, IdahoJerome, Idaho
Jerome is a city in Jerome County, Idaho, U.S.A. The population was 10,890 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Jerome County, and sits at an elevation of 3763 feet above sea level. It is part of the Twin Falls, Idaho Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Jerome is located at ...
to a nursing home employee and a truck driver, Hammond is the second to the youngest of eight children. Two years after Hammond's father abandoned the family, Hammond's mother had a breakdown and found herself unable to take care of the children, and they were sent as wards of the court
Ward (law)
In law, a ward is someone placed under the protection of a legal guardian. A court may take responsibility for the legal protection of an individual, usually either a child or incapacitated person, in which case the ward is known as a ward of the court, or a ward of the state, in the United States,...
to the Mooseheart Child City & School
Moose International
Moose International is a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888, consisting of the Loyal Order of Moose, with nearly 1 million men in roughly 2,400 Lodges, in all 50 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces, plus Great Britain and Bermuda; and the Women of the Moose with more than...
, a group home in Mooseheart, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. During the 14 happy years he spent at the home before achieving the age of majority
Age of majority
The age of majority is the threshold of adulthood as it is conceptualized in law. It is the chronological moment when minors cease to legally be considered children and assume control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thereby terminating the legal control and legal responsibilities of...
, he enjoyed his experiences on the group home's playground, and in his junior year at Ripon College
Ripon College (Wisconsin)
Ripon College is a liberal arts college in Ripon, Wisconsin, USA. It offers small class sizes and intensive mentoring to students. Ripon has a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa--one of the nation's most prestigious honor societies. Alumni have high rates of success in the workforce as well as acceptance...
first took part in helping to build a community playground, assisting the mother of a friend.
The dyslexic Hammond did not complete college, but relocated to Chicago as part of an Urban Studies Fellowship through the Associated Colleges of the Midwest
Associated Colleges of the Midwest
Associated Colleges of the Midwest is a consortium of 14 private liberal arts colleges, primarily in the Midwestern United States. The 14 colleges are located in five states . The ACM was established in 1958 and is headquartered in Chicago...
. There, he studied under Dr. John Kretzmann, director of the Assets Based Community Development Institute in the Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Evanston
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. The institute, which focuses on mobilizing struggling communities using resources already at hand, would later serve as a community-build model for KaBOOM! After seeing the influence of the playground he had helped build on its community, Hammond also participated in the Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
engagements of City Year
City Year
City Year is an education-focused nonprofit organization that partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention keeping students in school and on track to graduate...
, an AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is a U.S. federal government program that was created under President Bill Clinton by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 and later expanded by 50 percent under President George W. Bush...
program seeking to build democracy through citizen service and social entrepreneurship.
KaBOOM!
In 1995, shortly after he had moved to Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Hammond read a story in The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
about two local children who suffocated while playing in an abandoned car because they had nowhere else to play. This, combined with his prior experiences, inspired Hammond and his friend Dawn Hutchison to address the need for playgrounds for children. The pair were already committed to designing a day of service for Youth Service America
Youth Service America
Youth Service America, or YSA, is a resource center that partners with thousands of organizations committed to increasing the quality and quantity of volunteer opportunities for young people, ages 5-25, to serve locally, nationally, and globally." YSA has a reputation for supporting and promoting...
and chose to build their first playground at Livingston Manor in southeast Washington, D.C. The project, which involved over 500 volunteers, took five days in October, 1995.
Inspired by the build, Hammond and Hutchison incorporated KaBOOM! in April 1996, though Hutchison would remain with the new organization for only a year. Hammond became the organization's CEO. When their initial outreach attempts to non-profit foundations proved unsuccessful, they turned to and found support from businesses, beginning with The Home Depot
The Home Depot
The Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services.The Home Depot operates 2,248 big-box format stores across the United States , Canada , Mexico and China, with a 12-store chain...
. With the assistance of the business community and Hillary Clinton, who donated money from the sale of her book It Takes a Village
It Takes a Village
It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us is a book published in 1996 by First Lady of the United States Hillary Rodham Clinton. In it, Clinton presents her vision for the children of America...
, KaBOOM! built 38 playgrounds in 1997. By 2002, the number had risen to 441, and KaBOOM!'s largest corporate partners included The Home Depot, Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
, Computer Associates and Sprint
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
. By 1 October 2010, the organization had completed 1,869 playgrounds.
Hammond remained active in the organization, frequently visiting playground sites under construction or renovation by KaBOOM! around the United States and, in 2000, convincing ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry's
Ben & Jerry's
Ben & Jerry's is an American ice cream company, a division of the British-Dutch Unilever conglomerate, that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, and ice cream novelty products, manufactured by Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings, Inc., headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont, United...
to create the company's first flavor to be named after a non-profit organization, with an appeal for participation written on the label of the new Kaberry KaBOOM! and different incentives provided around the United States. After hurricanes Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
and Rita
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, Hammond pledged to provide 100 playgrounds in the region, a goal he and KaBOOM! surpassed, with 136 playgrounds built as of early September 2010. In 2007, Money
Money (magazine)
Money is published by Time Inc. Its first issue was published in October 1972. Its articles cover the gamut of personal finance topics ranging from investing, saving, retirement and taxes to family finance issues like paying for college, credit, career and home improvement...
magazine indicated that Hammond spent "75% of his work life attending builds, wooing donors, speaking at conferences, and trying to persuade lawmakers of the social value of play." Hammond also attends conferences and universities as a speaker
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
to discuss his work. In addition, he is a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger at The Huffington Post.
Memoir
Hammond released a memoir, KaBOOM! How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play, in April 2011. Published in hardcoverHardcover
A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
by Rodale, Inc., the book reached The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
best-selling list for "Hardcover Nonfiction" in May, 2011, at #4. The book traces Hammond's life from childhood to CEO.
Honors and awards
Since launching KaBOOM!, Hammond has personally received a number of honors and awards, including the President's Volunteer Service Award. Diet CokeDiet Coke
Diet Coke is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. It was first introduced in the United States on August 9, 1982, as the first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark...
honored Hammond in 1999 as one of five winners of its national "Making a Difference Award". Hammond was named among the "40 Under 40" by Crain's Chicago Business. Hammond was elected to the Fellowship of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public is a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, VA, supporting the field of social entrepreneurship. Ashoka was founded by Bill Drayton in 1981 to identify and support leading social entrepreneurs through a Social Venture Capital approach with the goal of...
in 2003. In 2004, he was named among the "Power and Influence Top 50" by Non-Profit Times. In 2008, Hammond was honored by the Jefferson Awards for Public Service
Jefferson Awards for Public Service
Jefferson Awards for Public Service were created in 1972 by the American Institute for Public Service as "a Nobel Prize for community and public service".-American Institute for Public Service:...
for "Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged" and by the New York University Stern School of Business
New York University Stern School of Business
The Leonard N. Stern School of Business is New York University's business school. It was established in 1900 as the NYU School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. In 1988 it was named after Leonard N. Stern, an alumnus and benefactor of the school...
with its "Satter Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award". In 2010, Hammond received the first American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
NGen Leadership Award, given to recognize professionals under 40 in the nonprofit sector who have had a transformative impact on a socially critical issue, and was also honored by the Washington Business Journal
American City Business Journals
American City Business Journals is an American newspaper chain based in Charlotte, North Carolina owned by Advance Publications. It has a range of media including 41 primary metropolitan weekly publications, which reach 4 million readers with business community related news, and Bizjournals, the...
among its "40 Under 40" to recognize "the Washington region's brightest young business leaders". In 2008, Ripon University bestowed upon him an honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
.