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
The Playing for Keeps Foundation raises funds to install safe, high-quality synthetic turf fields in communities that need them most — creating play spaces designed to last for decades.
We Advocate
The Playing for Keeps Association fights for evidence-based policy at city councils, school boards, and state legislatures — pushing back against blanket bans that, however well-intentioned, eliminate the only viable option for underserved kids.
We Activate
We partner with the nation’s leading youth-serving organizations to ensure every field we build becomes a living hub for programming, opportunity, and community pride.
2026 Awards Dinner & Fundraiser
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
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 Work In Action.
Buckhalter Elementary School
Oakland, CA
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
In The Media
See the latest news, resources, & updates from Playing For Keeps.
From FIFA World Cup to Community Impact | Dr. Mimi Nartey on Sports, Equity & Empowerment
IMAZ Foundation: Reimaging philantropy through the power of sport, art and culture.
City of Inglewood and Metro LA to Host The Wood Cup: A Cultural and Sports Festival on FIFA World Cup Opening Match Day
