Darell Hammond

[8] 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!

[12] This, combined with his prior experiences, inspired Hammond and his friend Dawn Hutchison to address the need for playgrounds for children.

[14] When their initial outreach attempts to non-profit foundations proved unsuccessful, they turned to and found support from businesses, beginning with The Home Depot.

[1] With the assistance of the business community and Hillary Clinton, who donated money from the sale of her book It Takes a Village, KaBOOM!

[4] 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!

[10][17] 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!

[11] 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.

[28][29] 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".