This Isn’t About Grass. It’s About Justice.
In dense urban neighborhoods across America, there are no resources to build natural grass fields — and even less to maintain them. After rain, after heavy use, after drought, they close. For children in under-resourced communities, a closed field doesn’t mean playing somewhere else. It means not playing at all.
Playing for Keeps exists because one truth is clear: access to artificial turf is a social justice issue. Modern turf is the only sustainable, year-round solution for children in communities where natural grass simply isn’t viable. We build it, fund it, fight for it, and activate it — because every child deserves a place to move, belong, and grow.
Playing for Keeps.
We Build
We build and support sustainable play spaces in communities where access is limited.
We Advocate
We advance informed, evidence-based conversations about the policies and investments that shape access to play.
We Activate
We bring play spaces to life through programming, partnerships, and community engagement.
2026 Awards Dinner & Fundraiser
Join us on December 3rd from 5 to 11 PM for an evening built for impact — a silent auction stacked with once-in-a-lifetime sports and travel experiences, a room full of people who believe a play field can change a community, and the kind of night that marks not just a celebration, but a commitment. Because this isn’t just an awards dinner or fundraising event. It’s the first chapter of something built to last.
Be there for the inaugural Playing for Keeps Awards Dinner & Fundraiser — where the game starts, and the real win is what we build for the kids who come after us.
Upcoming Events, Field Installations & Coalition Dinners
Change doesn’t happen behind a desk. It happens in neighborhoods, at city halls, on school grounds, and in the streets. Join us at our upcoming events — and see where we’ve already shown up to create access to play for every child.
2026 Awards Dinner & Fundraiser
Atlanta, GA
Vincent Country Safe Zone Activity Day
Coming Soon
We’re convening donors, advocates, policymakers, and partners at invitation-only coalition dinners in cities across the country. Los Angeles. New York. Oakland. Atlanta. More to come.
Our Model in Action.
Burckhalter Elementary School
Oakland, CA
At Burckhalter Elementary in Oakland, Playing for Keeps helped transform an underutilized schoolyard into a safe, sustainable play space designed to support physical activity, student wellness, and community connection. This was not simply a field installation. It was an investment in a community ecosystem for play, wellness, and connection.
Built With the Best in the Business
Play Isn’t Recess. It’s Development.
Impact by the Numbers
- 6.8 million children in the U.S. live in neighborhoods without parks
- 2–3x less likely — the odds of a low-income child participating in organized sports
- 2,000+ annual play hours from a turf field vs. ~600 for natural grass
- 1 in 5 children in the U.S. is classified as obese
- 10–20% reduction in cancer risk associated with consistent physical activity
Meet The President
“Talent is universal. Opportunity is engineered.”
Sport changed the trajectory of my life. It carried me from a pitch in Ghana to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, through graduate halls at Columbia, into public health research, and ultimately to this work. I’ve seen firsthand what’s possible when a child has space to move — and I’ve seen firsthand what’s lost when that space doesn’t exist.
Playing for Keeps is my answer to that inequity. It’s built on ruthless optimism — the refusal to accept that inequity is inevitable — and a commitment to doing something about it. — Dr. Mimi Nartey, Founding President
