With the advent of Playworks’ 20th Anniversary and our aim of reaching 3.5 million kids in 7,000 schools by 2020, I've launched a new blog that I am calling "Bringing out the Best." I welcome your ideas and suggestions for stories!
“My actions may seem small, but their collective impact will be great!” —Kevin Carroll
If you were going to say just one thing about Kevin Carroll, it would have to be that the man has staying power. The founder of Kevin Carroll Katalyst/LLC became a leading advocate of the play movement back before anyone else even knew there was a play movement.
Inspired by his own childhood, Kevin authored Rules of the Red Rubber Ball, and established himself as a source of wisdom and inspiration, powered by the joy unleashed by a ball and the freedom to play.
Kevin’s work as a speaker, writer, advisor, and coach for everyone from Fortune 500 CEOs and employees to schoolchildren has kept him at the fore of the movement for play. His enthusiasm for how far we’ve come and what the future holds makes him a valued partner who can be counted on to be both encouraging and realistic.
In the early days of the play movement, people dismissed Kevin’s insistence in the importance of play as “fanciful.” This is a helpful reminder. Despite the skepticism, Kevin has stayed on message and refused to be discouraged, and he has right to take credit for no small part of the progress we have made. Mostly, though, we both just take a sense of joy from the progress.
While working on a variety of other projects, Kevin continues to support and promote both veteran organizations like Playworks, and newer efforts. A great example of a newer project that Kevin has been involved with as an advisor is the documentary Bounce. Bounce is an extraordinary movie that travels the world to tell the story behind our love affair with the ball. That there should even be a movie about the power of a ball to bring us together is the perfect project for Kevin to advise and a wonderful testimony to the power of persistence, especially when it comes to promoting the power of play to bring out the best!
