Corporate Giving Focuses On Building Playgrounds For Children

Companies are allocating portions of their charity money to building and refurbishing playgrounds for children in the United States. Marketers such as Kraft Foods and CVS have come to see the playground as a venue for expanding public awareness of their brands, and are also persuading their employees to contribute their time and labor to their communities. Also, these playground projects allow food and beverage companies, which have been criticized for their high-calorie products, to join the government’s campaign against child obesity. Most companies work with Kaboom and other nonprofit organizations in creating public playgrounds, which used to be handled by schools and municipal governments, the budgets for which have been constrained by the economic downturn. Meanwhile, companies have been encouraging employees to volunteer as corporate cash contributions decline.