playcore national partners

PlayCore partners with a number of national organizations that are instrumental in promoting the importance of recreation and play for children and adults including the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation (AAPAR), an association of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD), Boundless Playgrounds®, the Natural Learning Initiative, Kids Around the World, the Trust for Public Land, the National Recreation and Park Association, the Partnership for Play Everyday, the Voice of Play, the Joe L. Frost Children's Play and Play Environments Research Collection at the University of the Incarnate Word, KaBOOM!®, and the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University.

American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation (AAPAR)

AAPAR is a powerful association serving more than 8000 professors, teachers, trainers, and community leaders who promote meaningful physical activity and recreation across the lifespan. AAPAR is dedicated to enhancing quality of life by promoting creative and active lifestyles through meaningful physical activity, recreation and fitness experiences across the lifespan with particular focus on inclusive, community-based programs. To learn more visit www.aahperd.org/aapar/.

American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD)

AAHPERD is an alliance of five national associations, six district associations, and a research consortium which support healthy lifestyles through high quality programs. AAHPERD’s mission is to promote and support leadership, research, education, and best practices in the professions that support creative, healthy, and active lifestyles. To learn more visit www.aahperd.org/. 

PlayCore and AAPAR, an association of AAHPERD, have partnered to develop Play On!, a groundbreaking physical education program that utilizes the playground for meeting national physical education standards through fun activities focused on balancing, swinging, sliding, climbing, overhead climbing/brachiating, and spinning. The program targets children kindergarten age through fifth grade and includes a resource guide for parents and a funding guide to support schools in researching and requesting a variety of sources to support the procurement of products and programs that promote school wellness and physical activity. For more information about Play On! click here. 

Boundless Playgrounds®

Boundless Playgrounds® is the first national nonprofit dedicated to helping communities create extraordinary playgrounds where children, with and without disabilities, can develop essential skills for life as they learn together through play. There are more than 100 Boundless™ playgrounds in over 20 states and Canada, and dozens more are currently in development. Boundless Playgrounds, based in Connecticut, was founded in 1997 by a passionate team of parents and professionals. For more information, visit www.boundlessplaygrounds.org.

Both GameTime and Play & Park Structures are proud to be part of a select group of Boundless Playgrounds Industry Partners working together to provide places where children of all abilities can learn and play together.

Natural Learning Initiative

The Natural Learning Initiative (NLI) is a research and design assistance program of the College of Design of North Carolina State University.  NLI creates environments for healthy human development and a healthy biosphere for generations to come.  The purpose of the Natural Learning Initiative is to promote the natural environment in the daily experience of all children and families, through environmental design, action research, education, and dissemination of information.  PlayCore is a proud sponsor of the Natural Learning Initiative and their 2008 Design Institute, Design for Children IN Nature.

Kids Around the World

Kids Around the World is a faith-based organization that was founded to provide safe play equipment for children who find themselves in situations where it is difficult to just be a "kid" due to war, natural disasters, and economic stress. They strive to restore hope through the power of play by building playgrounds world-wide for communities in need. In January 2008, PlayCore/GameTime and Kids Around the World will be proudly celebrating our 100th playground in the Dominican Republic. For more information, visit www.kidsaroundtheworld.com.

The Trust for Public Land

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national, nonprofit, land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites, rural lands, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. Since 1972, TPL has worked with willing landowners, community groups, and national, state, and local agencies to complete more than 3,500 land conservation projects in 47 states, protecting more than 2 million acres. Since 1994, TPL has helped states and communities craft and pass over 330 ballot measures, generating almost $25 billion in new conservation-related funding. For more information visit www.tpl.org.

The National Recreation and Park Association

The Mission of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is to advance parks, recreation and environmental conservation efforts that enhance the quality of life for all people.

NRPA believes in the value of parks and recreation for enhancing human potential, articulating environmental values, promoting individual and community wellness and utilizing holistic approaches to promote cultural understanding, economic development, family public health and safety by working in coalitions and partnerships with allied organizations. NRPA strives to facilitate and promote the development of grassroots, self-help initiatives in communities across the country. For more information visit www.nrpa.org.

PlayCore partners with NRPA in a variety of ways. In addition to PlayCore’s corporate membership, President and CEO, Bob Farnsworth, serves on the NRPA Board of Trustees, the NRPA Executive Committee and on the Board of Governors for the National Recreation and Parks Foundation. PlayCore and its commercial divisions are Titanium Sponsors for NRPA’s Annual Congress and Exposition and partner with the Association to offer innovative educational programs about play.

The Partnership for Play Every Day

In a voluntary and collaborative initiative of unprecedented scope, the YMCA of the USA, the National Recreation and Park Association and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education are working together as conveners of the Partnership for Play Every Day to increase the spaces and quality of play for our country’s children and youth.

These organizations have a proud legacy of providing physical education, physical activity, childcare, after school programs and youth sports to millions of children throughout the country. Through this dynamic collaboration with more than 30 of the nation’s leading non-profits, government agencies, academic organizations and corporations, we can create and sustain the momentum for a national movement to have kids get 60 minutes of physical activity every day. For further information visit www.playeveryday.org.

PlayCore is one of the original members of the Partnership, serving on the committee that determined its initial role and direction. Anne-Marie Spencer, GameTime’s Marketing Director, serves as the group leader for the Partnership’s Quality of Play Committee.

The PLAY Every Day Act promotes the national recommendation of 60 minutes of physical activity to kids, families and communities across the United States. A House bill (H.R. 2045) was introduced by Mark Udall (D-CO 2nd) on April 25, 2007 to support the Partnership for Play Every Day Act. A Senate bill (S. 651) was introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) on February 15, 2007. To learn more about the bill visit www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-651.

The“Voice of Play”

The “Voice of Play” is an Internet resource sponsored by the International Playground Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA) in an effort to educate the public about the benefits of play. It offers information about the physical, social, emotional and cognitive benefits of play, playground certification and safety standards, a resource kit for parents and an area to ask questions to our play experts. To learn more visit www.voiceofplay.com.

PlayCore is an active member and supporter of this resource in a variety of ways. Tom Norquist, GameTime’s Senior Vice President of Product Development, Sales and Marketing, and Anne-Marie Spencer, GameTime’s Marketing Director, serve as members of IPEMA’s marketing committee, assisting the organization with ideas and programs that increase the public’s awareness about play and IPEMA. Tom is also on the board of IPEMA, serving as their president.

The Joe L. Frost Children's Play and Play Environments Research Collection

Housed by the J.E. & L.E. Mabee Library at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, the Joe L. Frost Children's Play and Play Environments Research Collection is one of the most comprehensive sources of research materials for the study of childhood play and play environments in the United States. The Collection includes books, journals, papers and a variety of other materials that are applicable for study and research across a broad range of academic disciplines including psychology, sociology, anthropology, human performance, and nursing.
For more information visit the library online at www.uiw.edu/frost/index.htm.

PlayCore is a proud partner with Dr. Joe Frost and an active supporter of the library collection. The materials in the collection offer valuable resources to promote the value of play.

KaBOOM!®

KaBOOM!® is a national nonprofit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Celebrating eleven years of service in 2007, KaBOOM! rallies communities to achieve better public policy, funding and public awareness for increased play opportunities nationwide; provides resources, including trainings, challenge grants, and publications for communities that wish to plan a new playspace on their own; and brings together children, business and community interests for a select number of community playspace builds each year. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago, Atlanta and San Mateo. For more information visit www.kaboom.org.
PlayCore is a proud KaBOOM! Preferred Vendor.

The Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University

The Center for Persons with Disabilities (CPD) is Utah’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities in Education, Research, and Services and has been a leader in the disability field for over 35 years. Their mission is to “collaborate with partners to strengthen families and individuals across the lifespan through education, policy, research and services.” The Center represents more than 14 disciplines, and the specialized staff conduct both basic and applied research, and operate over 70 programs throughout Utah and across the nation as part of a national network focused on improving life for people with disabilities and their families. The CPD is a proud partner in promoting inclusive playgrounds that thoughtfully consider the needs of the child and how they achieve independence and equality. 

PlayCore and the CPD have partnered to create a variety of resources about universally designed playgrounds including 7 unique principles of inclusive play that focus on the actual experiences and feelings of a child during play and on the collective playground environmental design. For further information about the CPD visit www.cpd.usu.edu. Click here to learn more about our resources on universal playground design.

Innovative Learning Concepts & TouchMath

Innovative Learning Concepts Inc., creators of TouchMath,  is an award-winning multisensory program that uses its signature TouchPoints to engage students of all abilities and learning styles in a variety of mathematical concepts.  TouchMath's, step-by-step  approach covers key math concepts such as counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, story problems, and even pre-algebra and has been proven to raise math test scores in classrooms around the world for over three decades.  A growing body of independent, primary, and secondary research continues to validate the fundamental principles of the TouchMath system and show that the multisensory approach and sequential strategy used in their programs improves student math comprehension and mastery. To learn more visit www.touchmath.com.  

PlayCore and Innovative Learning Concepts Inc. have partnered to develop a comprehensive program to help bring the TouchMath program outside to the playground!  This partnership was formed to offer innovative educators a new way to reinforce the TouchMath classroom curriculum outdoors and use research based strategies to enhance the learning experiences for children in fun and creative ways.  This comprehensive program is designed to encourage movement, exploration, interaction, and problem solving to provide educators with the tools to create a dynamic, multisensory learning experience for all students that reinforces math concepts taught in pre K- 5th grade, helps to meet national standards, and raise math test scores.