Nathan's Famous® and KaBOOM!® Set to Build Playground for Florida Community

LISLE, Ill., Oct. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The youth and community of Kissimmee, Florida, are getting a new place to play thanks to Nathan's Famous and KaBOOM!. In partnership with the City of Kissimmee and Community Vision, the world famous hot dog company and national non-profit dedicated to giving kids the play they need to thrive have announced plans to build a new playground at the Mark E. Durbin Community Park at Lakeside in the central Florida town. City leaders, community members and representatives from Nathan's Famous and KaBOOM! gathered at the Design Day event to launch the project with a walk through of the space which will house the new Coney Island themed playground. The event also involved the real experts on play – local children. Students from nearby Cypress Elementary School and children from the surrounding community had the opportunity to put crayons to paper and share their visions for what their future play space will look like.

"Nathan's Famous is all about fun, family and community," said Wayne Norbitz, president of Nathan's Famous, Inc. "We are really proud of our partnership with KaBOOM! and are thrilled to be able to partner with the City of Kissimmee and Community Vision to provide a fun new playspace for the community here in Kissimmee."

The playground project is the first to be funded by Nathan's Famous and is a key part of Ready. Set. PLAY., the multi-faceted initiative launched by the company earlier this year in support of KaBOOM!. The build will take place in December with the Design Day event being one of the first and exciting steps in bringing the project to life. Consumers also have the opportunity to lend their support by purchasing select Nathan's Famous products that feature the KaBOOM! logo now through October 12. Purchases of these special packages will go toward funding the build.

"At KaBOOM!, we believe play matters for all kids," said Darell Hammond, founder and CEO of KaBOOM!. "We are thrilled to partner with Nathan's Famous, the City of Kissimmee and Community Vision to help bring balanced and active play into the daily lives of more children in Kissimmee."

The City of Kissimmee is a Playful City USA community, which understands that play, in all its forms, is a powerful thing. The new playground will bring more than 10,000 children in the city one step closer to having the childhood they deserve. Currently, Kissimmee offers 20 different playgrounds throughout the city, with a goal of creating a park and playground within walking distance to every resident.

"We are so pleased to be awarded another KaBOOM! playground project and we are excited to work with our new funding partner, Nathan's Famous," said Dan Loubier, director of the parks, recreation and public facilities department, City of Kissimmee. "Our city cares about the children that live in and visit our community. To work with partners such as Community Vision, KaBOOM! and Nathan's Famous that share in our passion to provide children positive outlets through play, is incredible.  When local governments can successfully partner with private companies to enhance services for children, that is a collaborative effort that should be modeled everywhere.  Our department is proud to be the benefactor of this new playground but actually, we all know it is the children and their families that will benefit greatly from this much needed new playground at Mark E. Durbin Park in the Lakeside Community."

In addition to the playground build, Nathan's Famous' special partnership directly supports KaBOOM!'s work to bring balanced and active play into the daily lives of all children, particularly those growing up in poverty in America. Over the summer, the popular food company hit the road with Ready. Set. PLAY. and hosted Coney Island themed events in communities across the country. The goal was not only to raise awareness for KaBOOM!, but to create a way to celebrate balanced and active play as well as honor the "playmakers" who are working hard to make play possible.

To keep up to date on the playground build and for further information on Ready. Set. PLAY., please visit www.nathansfamous.com.

About Nathan's Famous

Nathan's is a Russell 2000 Company that currently distributes its products in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Cayman Islands and nine foreign countries through its restaurant system, foodservice sales programs and product licensing activities. Nathan's was ranked #55 on the Forbes list of the Best Small Companies in America and was listed as the Best Small Company in New York State in October 2013. Last year, over 480 million Nathan's Famous hot dogs were sold. For additional information about Nathan's please visit our website at www.nathansfamous.com.

About John Morrell Food Group 

With over a century and a half of experience, John Morrell Food Group brands have become respected and well known for providing premium-quality meat products to families across the United States. With products ranging from lunchmeat and franks to smoked sausage, bacon and pepperoni, the John Morrell Food Group is an important part of consumers' mealtimes. The John Morrell Food Group offers several national and regional brands including Armour^®, Eckrich^®, John Morrell^®, Curly's^®, Patrick Cudahy^®, Carando^®, Healthy Ones^®, Margherita^® Kretschmar^® and LunchMakers^®.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods is a $14 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield^®, Eckrich^®, Farmland^®, Armour^®, Cook's^®, Gwaltney^®, John Morrell^®, Kretschmar^®, Curly's^®, Carando^®, Margherita^®, and Healthy Ones^®. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental, and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com and www.smithfieldcommitments.com.

About KaBOOM!

KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to bringing balanced and active play into the daily lives of all kids, particularly those growing up in poverty in America. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has collaborated with partners to build, open or improve nearly 16,000 playgrounds, engaged more than one million volunteers and served 7.4 million children. KaBOOM! creates great places to play, inspires communities to promote and support play, and works to drive the national discussion about the importance of play in fostering healthy lives and communities. To learn why #playmatters: visit kaboom.org or join the conversation at twitter.com/kaboom or facebook.com/kaboom.

About the City of Kissimmee

Kissimmee is a community of neighborhoods for families, making it a great place to visit, but an even better place to call home. With an outstanding quality of life, Kissimmee residents have access to an impressive education system, a revitalized and thriving downtown district, affordable housing, and a high level of municipal services.  For more information about the City of Kissimmee, please visit www.kissimmee.org.

About Community Vision

Community Vision is a community-based organization committed to the protection and preservation of Osceola County's natural resources, effective growth management efforts, and the education and training of the county's citizens.  For more information about Community Vision, please visit www.communityvision.org.

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SOURCE Nathan's Famous