Foresters Financial is marking 20 years of partnership with KABOOM!, highlighting a collaboration that has built 180 playspaces across North America. The US-based nonprofit and Foresters Financial have expanded access to play for over 7 million children in their two-decade partnership.
Foresters and KABOOM! launch 177 playspaces
The partnership began in 2006 with a shared focus on tackling playspace inequity across the US and Canada. Since then, Foresters members, employees, sales agents, and community volunteers have worked alongside KABOOM! to turn unused spaces into places where children can play, socialize, and grow.
Foresters and KABOOM! have now completed 180 playspace projects across 105 cities and 31 states and provinces in North America. The projects have involved more than 36,400 registered volunteers, according to Foresters.
Foresters estimates that the 180 playspaces will provide more than 7 million children with access to play over their 15-year lifespan. The figure is based on the number of families in the census tracts surrounding the projects and an average of 1.2 children per family.
Not resting on its laurels, Foresters is backing the development of two additional play spaces in Oshawa, Ontario, and Waxahachie, Texas. Both play spaces are scheduled for launch in the coming weeks, with local children contributing to the design in Oshawa.
Matt Berman, President and CEO of Foresters Financial, described the partnership as an important part of the organization’s community work.
“This partnership has been so important to us,” Berman said. “Foresters and KABOOM! have made such an amazing difference for kids over the past 20 years.”
From four builds to a 20-year legacy
The first year of the partnership produced four playspaces, stretching from Moss Point, Mississippi, to Los Angeles, California, with more than 1,000 volunteers taking part.
The collaboration reached its 100th playspace milestone in June 2014. That project brought Foresters staff, members, and community residents together to build a new playspace in St. Paul, Minnesota, supporting more than 300,000 children annually through access to play.
The partnership has also experimented with different approaches to community play. In San Antonio, Texas, Foresters and KABOOM! created an adventure course aimed at teenagers, while other projects have incorporated children’s drawings and ideas into the final playspace designs.
Foresters’ latest anniversary figures come as KABOOM! also celebrates its 30th anniversary. The two organizations say their work is focused on creating spaces where children can play while strengthening the communities around them.
Recent projects have emphasized inclusive and community-designed spaces. In 2024, Foresters and KABOOM! partnered with the Town of Ajax, Ontario, on a playspace shaped by ideas submitted by neighborhood children during a Design Day event.
Foresters said it plans to continue working with KABOOM! on additional projects as the partnership moves beyond its 20-year milestone.
“Our Purpose at Foresters goes hand-in-hand with KABOOM!’s vision,” said René Zanin, Foresters’ Global Chief Legal, Compliance and Membership Officer. “We’re both focused on enriching the communities we call home and inspiring others to do the same.”
Previously, Foresters Financial earmarked over $1.5 million for its Competitive Scholarship program for 600 students across North America and the UK.