NEWS

Nathan Davidson 9/27/22 Nathan Davidson 9/27/22

Play Around Pittsburgh: Be A Good Neighbor Block Parties

The Fall 2023 Be A Good Neighbor Block Parties were a major success! The University of Pittsburgh held four block parties with a totally of almost 600 long-term and student residents in South Oakland, North Oakland, Oakcliffe and Oakland Square.

The Fall 2022 Be A Good Neighbor Block Parties were a major success! The University of Pittsburgh held four block parties with a totally of almost 600 long-term and student residents in South Oakland, North Oakland, Oakcliffe and Oakland Square. Our final West Oakland block party is being held on Tuesday, September 27 from 5:00PM – 7:00PM on the Trees Hall Lawn.

The block party featured tables from various Oakland-based vendors, including organizations such as Carnegie Library, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Pitt’s Student Office of Sustainability, free food provided by Cilantro & Ajo food truck, and games and activities provided by the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative. Students and community members had a chance to connect and celebrate the start to the new school year as the forged new relationships for the semester to come.

For more information on the Be A Good Neighbor Block Party, visit pitt.edu/pittwire/features-articles/be-a-good-neighbor-parties-2022.

Nathan Davidson 9/27/22 Nathan Davidson 9/27/22

What Are Our Playful Partners Up To? - Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy was recently awarded a $235,000 grant from the Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust to plan, design and conduct community engagement for an outdoor sensory classroom at the Frick Environmental Center (FEC).

The Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust provides financial support for organizations and projects that serve children and people with intellectual and physical disabilities, with an emphasis on Allegheny County.

The project’s ultimate goal is to repurpose and enhance the existing Nature Play area and Woodland loop trail behind the Environmental Center with thoughtfully designed improvements to support playful learning and multi-sensory exploration. We are excited to kick off the project by engaging with focus groups of Pittsburgh educators, caregivers, disability advocates, and community members. Additionally, we are assembling an Advisory Committee to ensure the design of the sensory classroom responds to the needs of educators, learners with exceptionalities, and other park users.

Playful outdoor environments provide opportunities for growth and learning, affecting all areas of development. Currently, few options exist in Pittsburgh that are purpose-built for learners with exceptionalities and their families, and even fewer are free. Moreover, there are a limited number of green spaces designed with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Principles for architecture and programming, which are intended to support learners of all abilities and change the design of the environment rather than changing the learner.

At the Frick Environmental Center, our education staff strives to facilitate diverse and authentic experiences that deepen and inspire personal connection to nature and foster a sense of identity as part of the natural community. We know children connect and learn through play. We have worked hard to incorporate play into our programming and have looked at ways to make the physical environment playful.

Over the past few years, we have developed a nature play area at the base of South Clayton Trail using the natural materials found in the park. The space is designed to invite park users to connect with nature playfully. This new project will build on that work to create an inviting and accessible play area.

Focus groups, listening sessions, surveys and public meetings will continue throughout the various phases of the project, and community feedback will be incorporated as the plan progresses. It is our hope that these meetings themselves can be accessible, employ multiple modes of engagement and playfulness. Design of the outdoor sensory classroom is projected for completion in the summer of 2023.

To learn more about the outdoor sensory classroom project, please visit pittsburghparks.org/park-projects/frick-environmental-center-sensory-classroom/

About Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy:

Recently celebrating its 25th year, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy was founded in December 1996 by a group of citizens concerned with the deteriorating conditions of Pittsburgh’s historic city parks. A non-profit organization, the Parks Conservancy works closely with the City of Pittsburgh under an official public-private partnership agreement to restore and improve the city’s park system to its full potential. To date, the Parks Conservancy has raised more than $130 million and completed more than 22 major park improvement projects. The Parks Conservancy works with thousands of volunteers, hosts hundreds of events, and provides programming for more than 7,500 children annually.

Nathan Davidson 9/27/22 Nathan Davidson 9/27/22

Welcome Our Newest Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative Partners! - September 2022

Get to know the organizations and individuals joining the Pittsburgh Playful Collaborative as its newest members!

Kenny’s in Homewood, Demi Kolke

For Demi Kolke (founder), over 12 years working in Homewood gave her the opportunity to hear firsthand what one of the most divested neighborhoods in Pittsburgh desires for their community.

When you meet a longtime Homewood resident, one of the first conversations will assuredly be about ‘the way Homewood used to be’ -- the liveliness, bustling businesses, and sense of community.

Once overgrown and underutilized, Kenny’s is now a safe, vibrant place to cultivate community, enjoy positive and inclusive neighborhood experiences, and have fun. We exist to help give Homewood what it deserves: beautiful, bountiful spaces, abundant resources, love and support, and a neighborhood to be proud of.

To learn more, visit kennyshomewood.com.

Family Foundations, Donella Smith

Family Foundations Early Head Start is a program a part of the University of Pittsburgh’s office of Child Development. We operate in six communities such as Clairton, McKees Rocks, North Side, Hill District. East End and Braddock; where we provide in-home services to families who are expecting children from birth to age three. We offer in- home visits once a week for 90 minutes where families are provided with a home visitor who meet with the family weekly. We offer socializations twice a month for families to come meet with other families at our site or we plan off campus events to go to the zoo and or children’s museum. In addition to the socializations, we offer support services such as a nurse, nutritionist, child development specialist and mental health support.

To learn more, visit ocd.pitt.edu/programs-services/family-foundations-early-head-start.

Lion of Judah Enterprises, Teaira Collins

From the words of Founder, Teiera Collins:

“The reason why I started a non-profit? God blessed me with Judah on May 18, 2012, and I didn't know he had Down Syndrome until the day he was born. Yes, I was tested and it came back negative. I feel that was God's way of making sure he made it here. I will be very honest, I was very depressed and wondering why God would give me another child with special needs. But I was about to see that what I thought was him punishing me was about to change my life forever. I was about to see that Judah was going to be the greatest Gift God could have ever given me.

As I sat in my room holding this beautiful baby boy, and 3 very important people, my PCP, my Aunt, and my Co Worker had all said the same thing to me that he wasn't a punishment and stop looking at him as one and stop trying to figure out how to give him back. And start figuring out why he chose you for this. I was told to give him unconditional love and raise him the right way and watch how he was going to be the biggest blessing from God. The funny part was that they were all of the things that I was thinking but never had said them out loud so I knew God was right there showing me that he had a plan for me and I just needed to follow him.

My PCP had told me that he took care of the adults with Down Syndrome and that Judah had a very mild case and that he would be very highly functional and that knowing I was a good mom, as he said, Judah would be just fine. So as I started to prove all of the Doctor's wrong in the Down Syndrome clinic who said Judah wouldn't walk and talk until he was 5. My children and I sat out to prove the world wrong. So we taught Judah sign language. We worked with Judah day and night with the help of Ties for Early Intervention. I would go live on Facebook with what he was learning and how I had accomplished it. People started watching and noticing what I was doing.

It wasn't until we were downtown walking and this lady asked me, “How do you do that?” I had no idea what she was talking about so I asked her what she said, “Don't he have Down Syndrome,” I said yes, why? She said, “How did you get him to walk without holding your hand?”

At this time Judah was about 3 years old. I said, I taught him that. She said, “I have a child who is 13 at home with Down Syndrome and I can't take him anywhere," now I know this sounds mean, but I told her that was her fault. She asked me for my number. I gave it to her, and I told her we were on Facebook, and we do live videos called “Living in Ju Bugs Would.” After having him I had to change my way of thinking I couldn't raise him the way I had raised my other kids. He has his own mind, and his own way of doing things and when we did it his way, life was so much easier for me. Everything wasn't a fight. More people started following me and asking questions.

I realized only then that he was here to change people's lives and to help others. That is how we began the Lion of Judah Enterprises. We were able to get him to walk before he was 3 and he signed over 200 words by the time he was 3. And we have been helping people of color ever since, and it feels good to know that Judah is so loved by the world and he has changed my life in such a way that I would have ever imagined. It feels so great to live in Ju Bugs Would and help others: that I know, for that he is the best Gift and blessing that God has ever given me. I wouldn't change anything in the world, and I would tell anyone who is about to have a child with Down Syndrome that this is the biggest blessing and one hell of a roller coaster ride but it is a ride of your life. And you won't want to get off, because this sour patch kid is the most loving and kind hearted you will ever meet. I love this kid, and so does the world. Living in Ju Bugs World is great and if you don't believe me, come get on this ride with me.”

To learn more, visit lionofjudah.enterprises.

Carnegie Mellon Entertainment and Technology Center, John Balash (CMU ETC)

The Entertainment Technology Center is an interdisciplinary research center offering a Master of Entertainment Technology (MET) that is a joint venture between Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science and College of Fine Arts that was founded in 1998. In the spirit of the ETC’s interdisciplinary focus, the center had two co-directors; Randy Pausch, a CS professor (who later delivered his inspirational Last Lecture), and Don Marinelli, a Drama Professor.

The directors set ETC’s mission to combine art and technology at the core of an applied research, inquiry-focused education. The ETC has been committed to challenging students from a diversity of backgrounds to study and work together on applied design-based research projects, developing their skills as leaders in terms of assuming responsibility for their role on a team as well as in terms of doing innovative work and pushing the envelope in the ﬁeld. ETC’s curriculum focuses on meaningful and transformational play, which balances educational goals, professional development, and engaging experiences, or learn, work and play.

To learn more, visit www.etc.cmu.edu.

Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, Maria Cohen

To learn more, visit shuc.org.

Nathan Davidson 9/27/22 Nathan Davidson 9/27/22

Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative's #BeKind21 Campaign

We’re celebrating our successful #BeKind21 campaign of #BeKind21! You probably noticed our social media accounts promoting this hashtag throughout September.

We’re celebrating our successful #BeKind21 campaign of #BeKind21! You probably noticed our social media accounts promoting this hashtag throughout September. #BeKind21 is a campaign organized by Lady Gaga’s organization, Born This Way Foundation, that encourages making kindness a habit. During the first 21 days of September, participants are encouraged to practice kindness each day, in order to make it routine.

Playful Pittsburgh wasn’t the only organization who participated in this challenge in the Pittsburgh area. We’d like to give a huge shout out to Kidsburgh on their inspiring #BeKind21 campaign! We’d also like to congratulate and highlight the Center for Loving Kindness, the Children’s Museum and Museum Lab, JAMbethkindkid, Inc., WQED as well as Gregg Behr and Ryan Rydzewski, the authors of When You Wonder, You’re Learning for the amazing work they put together to instill kindness as a habit through Pittsburgh.

Please see our posts below from September’s #BeKind21 social media campaign, and feel free to share your own stories of spreading kindness, and making kindness a habit.

09/01/22 - Kindness Is…The Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative kicks off September with #BeKind21.

09/06/22 - Kindness Is Making New Friends: The Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative hosts the annual Ultimate Play Day as part of Remake Learning Days at parks around Pittsburgh.

09/08/22 - Kindness Is Advocating for a World Where Black Lives Matter: The Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative, a initiative supported by Trying Together, is actively #antiracist. We aim to #disrupt microaggressions, outwardly racist behavior and actions.

09/15/22 - Kindness Is Telling Someone You Appreciate Them: Hello Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative partners (believers, affiliates, promoters, scholars, activists, and those who opt-in)! Have we told you lately that you all are Pittsburgh rock stars!?

09/20/22 - Kindness Is Bringing People Into Conversations When You Notice Them Struggling: It’s important to include people in discussions, because people deserve to be heard. They deserve to use their voice to #advocate for things they want and believe in. It’s also important to welcome everyone when you and your friends play.

09/21/22 - Kindness Is Being an Advocate: Advocate for play every single day!

Nathan Davidson 9/23/22 Nathan Davidson 9/23/22

21 Questions for the #BeKind21 Campaign with Adam James Zahren, Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative

Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative wraps up our #BeKind21 social media campaign this month by getting a little personal about kindness!

Adam James Zahren, Assistant Director of Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative, sat down to answer 21 questions touching on all things kind in Adam's world. From how you can be kind to yourself to being kind to plants, Adam shares their kindness tips, as well as what #BeKind21 means to them.