Darell Hammond is an American

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, founder of the

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

KaBOOM! that helps communities build playgrounds for children. Hammond also speaks at conferences and universities about his work and

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in Reverse ...

s on ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

''. Hammond, who from the age of four enjoyed a happy childhood in a

group home A group home, congregate living facility, or care home (the latter especially in British English and Australian English) is a residence model of medical care for those with complex health needs. Traditionally, the model has been used for children ...

founded by

Moose International The Loyal Order of Moose is a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888 and headquartered in Mooseheart, Illinois. Moose International supports the operation of Mooseheart Child City & School, a community for children and teens ...

, 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 The President's Volunteer Service Award is a civil award bestowed by the President of the United States. Established by executive order by George W. Bush, the award was established to honor volunteers that give hundreds of hours per year helpin ...

. In 2011, Hammond released his

best-selling A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

memoir, ''KaBOOM! How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play''. He was listed in the

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

2011 list of the top 30 social entrepreneurs and was named as a "Health hero" by WebMD.

Early life

Born in

Jerome, Idaho Jerome is a city in and county seat of Jerome County, Idaho, United States. The population was 10,890 at the 2010 census, up from 7,780 in 2000.wards of the court to the Mooseheart Child City & School, a group home in Mooseheart,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

. During the 14 happy years he spent at the home before achieving the

age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...

, 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 Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...

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 (ACM) is a consortium of 14 private liberal arts colleges, primarily in the Midwestern United States. The 14 colleges are located in five states (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Colorado). The ACM was es ...

. There, he studied under Dr. John Kretzmann, director of the Assets Based Community Development Institute in the

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in Evanston,

. 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 is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

engagements of

City Year City Year is an American education nonprofit organization founded in 1988. The organization partners with public schools in 29 high-need communities across the US and through international affiliates in the UK and Johannesburg, South Africa. Ci ...

, an

AmeriCorps AmeriCorps (officially the Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS) is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer work prog ...

program seeking to build democracy through citizen service and social entrepreneurship.

KaBOOM!

In 1995, shortly after he had moved to Washington, D.C., Hammond read a story in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' 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, 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.< ...

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. Darell Hammond

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, Inc., is an American multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the largest home improvement re ...

. With the assistance of the business community and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

, who donated money from the sale of her book ''

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. She focuses on the impact individu ...

'', 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 often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

Computer Associates CA Technologies, formerly known as CA, Inc. and Computer Associates International, Inc., is an American multinational corporation headquartered in New York City. It is primarily known for its business-to-business (B2B) software with a product po ...

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 Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream ...

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 Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as R ...

devastated the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

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 is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money ar ...

'' 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 Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

to discuss his work. In addition, he is a

ger at The Huffington Post. In 2015, Hammond stepped down as CEO from KaBOOM!, but continues to serve KaBOOM! in an advisory capacity.

Memoir

Hammond released a memoir, ''KaBOOM! How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play'', in April 2011. Published in

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or o ...

by Rodale, Inc., the book reached ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

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 Coke Diet Coke (also branded as Coca-Cola Light, Coca-Cola Diet or Coca-Cola Light Taste) is a sugar-free and low-calorie soft drink produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company. It contains artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. Unveiled on ...

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 ''Crain's Chicago Business'' is a weekly business newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, IL. It is owned by Detroit-based Crain Communications Inc., Crain Communications, a privately held publishing company with more than 30 magazines, including ''Adve ...

''. 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 The Jefferson Awards Foundation was created in 1972 by the American Institute for Public Service. The Jefferson Awards are given at both national and local levels. Local winners are ordinary people who do extraordinary things without expectatio ...

for "Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged" and by the

New York University Stern School of Business The New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business (commonly referred to as NYU Stern, The Stern School of Business, or simply Stern) is the business school of New York University, a private research university based in New York City. I ...

with its "Satter Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award". In 2010, Hammond received the first

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation, multinational corporation specialized in payment card industry, payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Man ...

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, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor New ...

'' 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 An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad h ...

. He was listed in the

2011 list of the top 30 social entrepreneurs and was named as a "Health hero" by WebMD. He was also named as a Schwab social entrepreneur by the Schwab Foundation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Darell Living people American philanthropists American nonprofit chief executives Year of birth missing (living people) People from Jerome, Idaho