Darell Hammond

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 blogs 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. He was listed in the Forbes 2011 list of the top 30 social entrepreneurs and was named as a "Health hero" by WebMD.

Born in Jerome, Idaho to a nursing home employee and a truck driver, Hammond is the seventh 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.

...
Wikipedia