Playworks Southeast

This , will you help kids gain valuable conflict resolution skills that can benefit them on the playground, in the classroom, and beyond?

Earlier this year, 4th grader Mia used the leadership skills she’s gained as a Playworks Junior Coach to help resolve a conflict between two upset kindergarteners at her school. Mia ensured the students felt heard and were both okay before returning to class.

Student leaders learn the importance of empathy, effective communication, and collaboration – skills that are fundamental for resolving conflicts and promoting an inclusive school community.

Today, you can multiply your impact for kids like Mia. Every donation will be matched up to $150,000 by the Playworks National Board of Directors. Donate now: https://donate.playworks.org/give/523976/ #!/donation/checkout

Don’t miss the next installment in our Game Plan webinar series on October 25! Join us to explore Recess Mapping 101 and how it can help create safer play environments for kids.
https://www.playworks.org/services/the-game-plan-webinar-series/

Recess is safer (and more fun!) when games have their own dedicated locations on the playground. Learn the basics of playground mapping at The Game Plan webinar #1 on October 25. Registration is free.
https://www.playworks.org/services/the-game-plan-webinar-series/

Get ready to transform your school’s playground! Register today for our Playground Mapping 101 webinar and learn how to develop safe and healthy play spaces that students enjoy.
https://www.playworks.org/services/the-game-plan-webinar-series/

Looking to make recess safer, organized, and more fun? Join us for Playground Mapping 101, the first installment of The Game Plan webinar series by Playworks. Learn the basics of creating a play environment that’s safe and engaging.
https://www.playworks.org/services/the-game-plan-webinar-series/

Playworks’ free webinar series The Game Plan returns on October 25! Join us to explore the basics of recess mapping and discover how it can create safe and healthy play environments for all students. Register now: https://www.playworks.org/services/the-game-plan-webinar-series/the-game-plan-webinar-series-registration/

Looking for innovative ways to engage and inspire your students? Join us for The Game Plan webinar series and unlock the power of play at your school or community organization. Registration is free!
https://www.playworks.org/services/the-game-plan-webinar-series/

Make the most out of every recess with The Game Plan. This four-part webinar series will share practical solutions that you can use to enhance kids’ play-based experiences. Register today for free.
https://www.playworks.org/services/the-game-plan-webinar-series/

The Game Plan webinar series is back! Explore strategies and tools you can use to support quality play during this four-part series. With relevant topics and multiple start times to fit your schedule, it’s perfect for any adult working with kids in schools or community programs. Registration is free!
https://www.playworks.org/services/the-game-plan-webinar-series/

Unlock the power of a great recess with The Game Plan webinar series! Each session will explore new ways that you can enhance the quality of play for kids at your school or community organization. Register today.
https://www.playworks.org/services/the-game-plan-webinar-series/

Calling all educators and youth program leaders: our webinar series The Game Plan is back! Register today and gain practical tips and insights on enhancing kids' play-based experiences.
https://www.playworks.org/services/the-game-plan-webinar-series/

We have the same great mission, but now we have a new name. Playworks North Carolina is rebranding as Playworks Southeast.

We have proudly served the North Carolina community for over 10 years and have made an impact on individuals and across entire communities. This rebranding will allow us to get one step closer to our vision: one day every child in America will play every day.

Learn more about new opportunities to partner with Playworks Southeast: Playworks.org/southeast

Playworks North Carolina Rebranded as Playworks Southeast We’re proud to introduce Playworks Southeast! We have the same mission and will be utilizing our over 25 years of experience of leveraging play to impact more kids and communities across the southeastern United States.

Thanks to our partners at Joseph Shanklin Eementary for having us on Friday! We can’t wait to continue to grow our partnership and develop JSE Sand Dollars.

Playworks has worked to bring safe and healthy play to kids for 26 years in communities across the country.

On this , join us in helping kids in our communities experience the power of play.

Link in bio!

We're hiring! Playworks is looking for a Sales and Partnerships Director to support our growing work in the Southeast! Looking for an individual passionate about play/education and someone who has the ability to foster current relationships while also cultivating new partnerships in the Southeastern regions (NC, SC, TN, GA, FL and beyond). Please spread the news and share within your networks!

We would love for you to join our team so follow the link below to apply: https://www.playworks.org/about/careers/staff/job/4258015/

Staff Careers | Playworks

Do you have what it takes to be the winner of the largest Rock Paper Scissors game of all time? Rock Paper Scissors is a fun game, a tool for helping kids learn and practice conflict resolution on Playworks playgrounds, and a community builder. Join the Playworks community virtually on May 25 for both the joy of the game and the chance to break a world record! Invite your friends by sharing this post & register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/playworks-rock-paper-scissors-tournament-2022-tickets-231038170387

What an amazing training we had Saturday at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly with the Western NC YMCA staff! We had a blast centering Social-Emotional Learning through Play with such a memorable group!

This week's highlight is Quan Pratt:

"Right after finishing my undergrad at UNCG I got involved with Playworks, and I'm so grateful I did! While there I learned tons of strategies to implement fitness into kids' lives without them even knowing it. My favorite memory has got to be the training days with the Playworks team, getting to be a kid again, and just embracing having fun while being active. After leaving Monroeton Elementary where I was stationed, I couldn't see myself not helping youth by way of physical activity. I ended up at a high school as the school's Health and PE teacher. Within a year I was promoted to Assistant Athletic Director, and weight room coordinator. I had not only found my passion, but also developed tools that allowed me to better connect with kids, and to push them further than they believed they could go. Fast forward a few years, I am now the CEO of Pratt Performance which is an Elite Performance Training Brand that specializes in working with youth athletes. I owe a lot to the family I built with Playworks and the Monroeton Elementary staff, for starting this journey. "

This Thursday we wanted to highlight another impactful member of our Playworks NC team:
"My favorite memory working at Playworks would probably be coaching my flag football team at Parkwood Elementary. We had a co-ed team and all the kids got along so well and played great together! I was also a HUGE fan of when all the coaches got together and played recess games- just great team camaraderie and some of the best folks I've ever worked with.

Playworks made a lifelong impression on me 100%. I can say that to this day, I solve many an argument with Ro-Sham-Bo - and it still works like a charm. I also am still a fan of the score "Fun to Fun", though that one is less popular haha. And during my time at the Y, I brought so many Playworks games with me and incorporated them into my programming- keeping it new and exciting for all the kids! I also still love me some 4-Square!

I learned so many leadership skills from my time at Playworks. And even though I was leading "just" kids, it taught me patience, how to find compromise, and to pick my battles. It was also my first professional experience in the real world, and for that, I will forever be grateful. I learned how to communicate with co-workers, supervisors, school administrators and teachers, and overall, it provided me with a really well-rounded experience as my first job.

I wouldn't trade my time at Playworks and Americorps for anything. I really enjoyed the service projects we did monthly while I was part of Americorps. I strongly believe that service projects as part of your job should be incorporated into more business models- it gave us a chance to come together, work together for the greater good, and give back to the communities we love so much."

This Thursday we wanted to highlight another impactful member of our Playworks NC team:
"Hello everyone my name is Jowette Bobray. I served as a Playworks Coach Americorps member back in 2016 [at Barwell Road].

Narrowing down my favorite memory is difficult but if I had to recall one it'd be from our Family Dodge Ball night! It was a fun time where we played a variety of dodge ball games! It was nice to see families come out to enjoy time outside playing games together.

Honorable mention - Our beautification day where we cleaned and painted our blacktop surfaces on our playground.
Currently, I serve as an Assistant Director for Civic Engagement and Coordinator of Freedom Schools at Davidson College in the Center for Civic Engagement. I began this role about 6 months ago. I have used so many of the skills I learned at Playworks in my role and am grateful that have those skills in my professinal toolbox.

Playworks has made an everlasting impression on me and how I approach work because now I think about play. I think "how can I incorporate healthy play in parts of my role?". I use fun attention geters to start meetings/ events with large groups, play ro-sham-bo to quickly resolve minor issues, and play all types of ice breakers trom the playbook. I often think, anytime we are soing an engaging activity especially a playground style game, how are these activities promoting healthy play among those playing?

I am grateful for my time as a Playworks coach and Americorps member. I went on to serve as a VISTA member and have even continued to serve the community with my husband and friends on National Days of Sevice. Additionally, I encourage young people to consider serving as an Americorps member. It was an humbling, rewarding and great opportunity to learn some invaluable, transferable skills and meet great young professionals whom I have stayed in contact with since my service years. Grateful for the opportunity!!"

Flashback to the 2017 when we entered Rockingham County Schools! Thank you to Rockingham County Public Schools for your partnership back in 2017! With that partnership, you all have paved the way for us to continue to make the impact that we do within the lives of North Carolina students. We have been able to expand in numerous schools even outside of North Carolina to reach other Southeastern states that seek the benefits of Playworks. We cannot thank you enough for trusting us with the investment of your students, school, and community!

Today we highlight: Mike Barlett

"My name is Mike Bartlett, and I am a former Playworks NC Coach. I served as Program Coordinator at Y.E. Smith Elementary during the 2012-13 school year. Being a Playworks Coach was one of the most fun, rewarding, and life changing experiences of my life! Through my work with Playworks that year I was able to see the positive impact my work had on a school community. This propelled me to make the decision to go back to school and obtain an Education degree to become an elementary school teacher. I've now been teaching 2nd grade for the past 7 years.

My year working with Playworks has greatly impacted my career as a teacher. I utilize so many of the cheers, claps, call and responses, and games daily with my students. Ro, Sham, Bo is a staple problem solver in our classroom. The playful nature the exists within my room would not be there, had I not had the experience to be a Playworks coach. I'm incredibly grateful for for the year I had at Y.E. Smith Elementary, for all the students and staff I was fortunate to work with, and mostly importantly for how it molded me into the teacher and person I am today. "- Mike

This week we want to highlight: Leslie Nguyen! Read below a bit of Leslie's experience while at one of ur amazing partner schools, Healthy Start Academy of Durham, NC.

"My favorite part of the job was my junior coaches as well as the entire 5th grade class and faculty getting together and helping my husband propose to me outside on the playground.
I am currently the Program Specialist for a nonprofit called Project Access Inc. where I create workshops and help teens apply and pay for college. I get to partner with other organizations to provide scholarships and additional resources to parents and students to find the best post-secondary option for them. Playworks has helped me continue my mission of helping kids/teens find empowerment and ownership over their futures. I love that I get to help so many families navigate this important milestone. I definitely still use a lot of my group management exercises during my workshops to keep the students engaged and asking questions. I also have been bringing a lot of my training about SEL programming into my own program and making sure that all my students are mentally ready for life after high school. I love every moment of my two years as a Playworks Coach and I’m so happy to see that the impact that I made on the playground at my school is still going strong." Leslie

Today's Highlight: Wake County Public Schools

Thank you to Wake County Public Schools for your partnership back in 2013! With that partnership, you all have paved the way for us to continue to make the impact that we do within the lives of North Carolina students. We have been able to expand in numerous schools even outside of North Carolina to reach other Southeastern states that seek the benefits of Playworks. We cannot thank you enough for trusting us with the investment of your students, school, and community!

“It was an absolute honor to be a part of the first year of Playworks NC. One of my favorite memories were getting to learn from the Baltimore coaches, basketball leagues, the millions of high fives I received daily, the relationships with teachers, principals, janitorial staff, the smiles, the way the kids would light up during recess , and last but not least the feeling of pride my Junior Coaches felt when they put on their purple shirts. Playworks definitely made me more aware of my male privilege, specifically to the world of sports and recreation. Definitely made me a better father to my own children. I have been a community based Mental Health Counselor in Wilmington, NC for the past 10 years. I still miss my kids at Glenn. Some of them are now high school graduates and in college. I will always live by play hard, be nice, and have fun!” - Damien Lee 🤩

Thank you Damien for joining us on this journey! We appreciate the impact you have had on the students of Glenn in 2011-12!

“Each unique expression of generosity will have value far beyond what we can imagine or live to see.” - MacKenzie Scott, philanthropist and novelist

Playworks is honored to be one of many organizations that MacKenzie Scott is giving to this year. This contribution will help Playworks make it possible for more kids to get to play by partnering with schools and community based organizations, supporting children’s social, emotional, and physical development at a moment when it really matters.

We are proud of what we have accomplished in our 25 years. Playworks has reached 2,174,400 kids through 3,259 school partnerships, out-of-school providers, and community organizations. Through the talent and generosity of thousands of AmeriCorps Coaches and staff, donors, partners, and communities, we have made sure a generation of kids have played, felt included and discovered their best selves on the playground.
This gift further enables us to support the next generation of kids. Thank you MacKenzie, and thank you to all who have shown and continue to show generosity and passion for our work. https://www.playworks.org/news/an-expression-of-generosity-from-mackenzie-scott/

Thank you for you Durham Public Schools for your partnership! With that partnership, you all have paved the way for us to continue to make the impact that we do within the lives of North Carolina students. We have been able to expand in numerous schools even outside of North Carolina to reach other Southeastern states that seek the benefits of Playworks. We cannot thank you enough for trusting us with the investment of your students, school, and community!

Happy New Year! We want to use this year to celebrate those that support us and are the reason that Playworks North Carolina has been able to make an impact for the past 10 years. Continue watching to see where our alumni have gone since they have been a part of Playworks!