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Celebrate Play with #LetsPlayChicago
[August 08, 2014]

Celebrate Play with #LetsPlayChicago


CHICAGO --(Business Wire)--

Hide-and-seek, hopscotch, capture the flag… these are just a few games today's adults probably enjoyed during their childhood. Today's kids, however, are more likely to spend their free time in front of the TV and playing virtual games, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.*

To help address the decline of active play in communities across the U.S., Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) launched Let's Play to provide the tools, spaces and inspiration to make play a daily priority. Tomorrow, #LetsPlayChicago will bring a citywide celebration of play to the Windy City.

To kick off #LetsPlayChicago, DPS along with Let's Play's partner organizations KaBOOM! and Good Sports, will build a playground at O.A. Thorp Scholastic Academy and deliver more than $68,000 in new sports equipment to community organizations across Chicago. The event will continue into the afternoon with a fun-filled, free outdoor festival for the Chicago community with a wide range of games and activities for kids of all ages.

"Through our Let's Play initiative, we are committed to promoting healthy lifestyles built on balance - balancing calories consumed with calories burned," said Joe Rowland, Sr. VP-Central Business Unit General Manager for Dr Pepper Snapple in Northlake, Ill. "As an employer of more than 1,000 Chicago-area residents with thousands of retail customers serving millions of local consumers, we have a stake in the future of this community. That's why we are committed to working with our partners at KaBOOM! and Good Sports through Let's Play to provide opportunities for active play for kids and families in Chicago."

Get Out and Play

It is more important than ever for kids and families to get outside and play, and according to research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, healthy lifestyle habits formed through play can lower the risk of obesity and its associated health issues.** Other research shows play helps kids grow physically, emotionally and socially.

Let's Play and partners KaBOOM! and Good Sports are dedicated to promoting active play. To date, DPS has committed $26 million over six years to benefit more than 7.5 million children by supporting programs that create inspirational playspaces and provide the resources and equipment needed for children to get the balanced and active play they need to thrive.

Come One, Come All and #LetsPlayChicago!

The play-packed day will take place at O.A. Thorp Scholastic Academy, 6024 W. Warwick Ave., Chicago, IL 60634 on Saturday, August 9.

WHEN:

7:30 a.m. CT - 12:30 p.m. CT

Through Let's Play, DPS, its partners KaBOOM! and Good Sports, and a team of 300+ volunteers will bring play to Chicago. Here's how:

  • Build a playground from the ground up
  • Sort and deliver more than $68,000 in sports equipment to community organizations across Chicago, including America SCORES Chicago, Beyond The Ball, B.I.G. Baseball Academy, Gads Hill Center, Higgins Community Academy, M.A.D.E. Organization, METROsquash and TEAM Englewood Community Academy
  • Hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the newly erected playground and sports equipment donation with local DPS representatives, school principal and community leaders

12:0 p.m. CT - 4 p.m. CT



In the afternoon, the #LetsPlayChicago event will feature free games, prizes and fun for kids of all ages including:

  • Autographs and pictures with former Chicago Bears player Alex Brown
  • Bouncy houses
  • Obstacle courses
  • Face painting
  • Free snacks

Not in the Windy City to celebrate play with us?


Check out the Let's Play website, LetsPlay.com, which serves up inspiration to families looking for ways to incorporate active play into daily routines, including the Let's Play Pledge.

*Kaiser Family Foundation, "Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds," 1/10/11

**Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Cardiorespiratory Fitness Levels Among U.S. Youth Aged 12-15 Years: United States, 1999-2004 and 2012," 5/14

About Dr Pepper Snapple Group

Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) is a leading producer of flavored beverages in North America and the Caribbean. Our success is fueled by more than 50 brands that are synonymous with refreshment, fun and flavor. We have 6 of the top 10 non-cola soft drinks, and 13 of our 14 leading brands are No. 1 or No. 2 in their flavor categories. In addition to our flagship Dr Pepper and Snapple brands, our portfolio includes 7UP, A&W, Canada Dry, Clamato, Crush, Hawaiian Punch, Mott's, Mr & Mrs T mixers, Peñafiel, Rose's, Schweppes, Squirt and Sunkist soda. To learn more about our iconic brands and Plano, Texas-based company, please visit www.DrPepperSnapple.com. For our latest news and updates, follow us at www.Facebook.com/DrPepperSnapple or www.Twitter.com/DrPepperSnapple.

About Let's Play

Let's Play is a community partnership led by Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) to get kids and families active nationwide. Since Let's Play launched in 2011, DPS has worked with nonprofit KaBOOM! to build or improve more than 2,000 playgrounds across North America and in 2014 partnered with Good Sports to provide sports gear for deserving athletic organizations in communities coast to coast. For more information, visit LetsPlay.com or Facebook.com/LetsPlay.

About KaBOOM!

KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to the bold new goal of ensuring that all children, particularly the 16 million American children living in poverty, get the balanced and active play they need to thrive. KaBOOM! has been a powerful champion for play since its founding in 1996, working with partners to build, improve and open more than 15,000 playgrounds, engage more than 1,000,000 volunteers and serve more than 6,600,000 children. KaBOOM! creates and catalyzes great places to play, inspires, empowers and leads play advocates, and educates and elevates the societal conversation about the importance of play in children's lives. For more information, visit kaboom.org/act or follow the conversation on why #playmatters at twitter.com/kaboom or facebook.com/kaboom.

About Good Sports

Good Sports helps to lay the foundation for healthy, active lifestyles by providing athletic equipment, footwear, and apparel to disadvantaged young people nationwide. By partnering with sporting goods manufacturers, Good Sports is able to get the necessary equipment into the hands of the kids that need it most, giving them a chance to get in the game. Since 2003, Good Sports has provided over $10 million worth of equipment to over 1,500 youth programs, impacting more than 970,000 kids. For more information on how you can support Good Sports, please visit www.goodsports.org.

Click to Tweet: .@DrPepperSnapple Promotes Play and Commitment to Balanced Lifestyles with #LetsPlayChicago @LetsPlay

Click to Tweet: .@LetsPlay Brings Play to the Windy City with Playground Build, Sports Equipment Donation and Free Community Event #LetsPlayChicago


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