San Francisco to Transform into Nation’s Hub on PlayUnprecedented gathering of leaders, athletes and advocates will share ideas and success stories to bring healthy play to kids
San Francisco— The country’s leading experts on play and its health and educational benefits will gather for the inaugural Play On 2009 Conference on May 18-20 in San Francisco.
Designed for individuals and organizations that advocate for or provide play and physical activity programs in their communities, Play On brings together foundations, experts and programs to discuss how to promote, fund and implement programs that bring play to youth.
The three-day event opens Monday, May 18, with a special session featuring speakers from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The California Endowment and Kaiser Permanente discussing “Why Play, and Why Now?” Their talk is followed by a discussion with Dr. Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play and one of the country’s premier experts on play behavior.
Tuesday’s full-day session kicks off with Kevin Carroll, acclaimed author of “Rules of the Red Rubber Ball.” Carroll has helped hundreds of individuals and organizations around the world harness the power of sports and play as a vehicle for achieving their goals.
Other featured speakers include:
- Jessica Mendoza, two-time Olympic medalist and member of the U.S. women's softball team
- David Bornstein, social innovation writer and author of “How to Change the World”
- Carla Sorey-Reed, creator and host of online sports talk show “Momma Got Game”
- Jill Vialet, founder and president of Sports4Kids
In addition, Play On features nearly three dozen breakout sessions addressing play programming, recess design, advocacy, policy, funding and other issues key to supporting play and physical activity in the community.
Organizational presenters include: (partial list)
- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- The California Endowment
- Kaiser Permanente
- Positive Coaching Alliance
- Team-Up for Youth
- Title IX Squared
- Fit for Learning
For details and registration information, visit www.PlayOn2009.org.
Press attendance inquiries can be directed to Tamara Murray at 415-901-0111 or tmurray@fenton.com.
Play On 2009 is hosted by Sports4Kids, a national organization bringing play and physical activity to more than 65,000 children in 170 low-income schools across seven cities — with plans to expand to 650 schools in 27 cities. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a major sponsor of the event.
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