Darell Hammond is an entrepreneur on a mission - To create a great place to play within walking distance of every child. While that may not sound like a big deal to those of you, who have access to many playgrounds it is, to thousands of inner-city kids, some of who don't even know what a playground is.

The idea came to Mr. Hammond in 1995, after he read about two kids who suffocated in a car, because they had nowhere else to play. His first project, at a low-income neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio met some resistance, especially from Resident's Association, who decided that they really didn't need a playground. Undaunted, the 23-year old went door-to-door and asked each and every resident in the community to show up and help if they wanted a playground. 300 volunteers showed up and Kaboom was born!

Mr. Hammond's philosophy is to get the residents, both young and old, involved in every playground Kaboom builds. So, while he arranges for most of the materials and equipment via donations, he expects the community to raise about 15% of the total funds required. The adults also have to come together and help build the playground - which are usually one-day projects. However, most importantly to make sure that he is building something that the kids will use, he asks them for input on what they would like to see in their playground.

Today, ten years and 2,000 playgrounds later, Kaboom has come a long way. But along the way, Mr. Hammond realized that despite his efforts he was barely making a dent. To make a real difference, he would have to enroll others to help.

After weeding through various options, the company came upon a brilliant idea. In 2009, they created a step-by-step instructional video on how to create a Kaboom-based playground and using the power of the Internet, spread it to communities all over the country.

Today, Mr. Hammond estimates that there are 10 community playgrounds built, for every one built by Kaboom. To read more about this great cause or learn how you can help, go to kaboom.org.

sources:dowser.org,knightblog.org.