Make a Difference Day Service Project at Rose Playground

This year’s Make a Difference Day 2010 took place on October 23. Make a Difference Day is “a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors” and is the nation’s largest day of service! * For our project, the Playworks Philly crew traveled to the Overbrook section of the city – one of Philadelphia’s westernmost neighborhoods.

The day took place at Rose Playground, an expansive open space with a lovely playground structure located just off 75^th Street. We worked under the welcoming leadership and guidance of the Overbrook Civic Association, a neighborhood organization seeking to keep their surroundings “safe, clean and attractive.”

“Avoid the Ouch!” were some of the first words uttered by our project leader for the day. Keeping this important safety motto in mind, we geared up for the day’s tasks. The objective? To lend a hand in providing this neighborhood-cherished green space with a physical rejuvenation! We got down to business pretty quickly, dividing up into smaller AC/PC squads to accomplish everything from trash pick-up, sweeping, weed-whacking, branch-cutting, and, sadly, the removal of a fallen squirrel.

Though the park’s vast space necessitated us to spread out for the majority of the day, the event concluded with a heartfelt group wrap-up lead by one of the neighborhood members spearheading the project. We felt the love as gratitude and recognition were given to all of the day’s helpers – a merger of service-oriented citizens looking to Make a Difference!

*taken from http://www.usaweekend.com/section/MDDAY

-Written from Playworks Philly by Program Coordinator Lisa Frank 

AmeriCorps Launch Day

The Philly Playworks AC members were out in full-force on Columbus Day at the National Constitution Center. The event was an interesting tour through American history. Through exhibits that detailed the long, difficult process of drafting and creating the Constitution, to the struggles our country has persevered through, the Playworks AC members were given an opportunity to see how their service fits into the history of America's birth at the hands of men and women who were passionate about seeing real change occur. Our members were also given an opportunity to view the amazing "Art of the American Soldier" exhibit, which highlights paintings done by men and women in the service from World War 1 to our modern day conflicts in the Middle East.

The event was attended by AC members from all parts of Philadelphia, and it was inspiring to see how many people volunteer and sacrifice their time to make a difference in under-served and needy populations.

The day also included an impromptu field trip, led by the fearless Emily Lyons, to the Reading Terminal market, where (most) everyone enjoyed the popular Dinic's pulled pork sandwiches.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Philly, whether for vacation or to come play with us, a trip to the National Constitution Center is a must. It's an amazing, if not a bit imperfect, look at the process our founding citizens started to create a more perfect government for and by the people, that is still, for better or worse, a work in progress.