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Playworks 6th Annual Corporate Kickball Raises Over $40,000

adidas shows off their Win with the Golden Trophy Names from left to right: Gavin Payne, Amanda Peterson, Brian Davis, Matty Merrill, Scotty Mazariegos, Megan McCullough, Alex Hart, Kat Chen, Kenna Smith, Saingbey Woodtor

Portland, June 19th, 2015. Playworks hosted its 6th Annual Corporate Kickball Fundraiser. Congratulations to team adidas for taking home the tournament Golden Trophy and Northwest Health Foundation for being the Spirit Award winners. There were 17 organizations, and more than 250 participants, took part in an afternoon of team building, networking, and fun.

Erin Chapman gets a high-five from Theresa Wright of Moss Adams for a job well done.

Colleen Finn (in pink) from Recesstime Sports helps start the game between Bryce Fowler (purple) from Waggener Edstrom Communications and Matty Merrill from adidas.

Together teams raised more than $40,000 to make it possible for 16,000 Portland metro area kids in low-income schools to reduce bullying, build leadership, foster teamwork and learn conflict resolution skills through safe and inclusive play.

Alison Arella goes for the home run kick

From Playworks:

Playworks’ vision is that one day every child in America will get to play – every day. We create a place for every kid on the playground, a place where every kid belongs, has fun and is part of the game. We offer an essential opportunity for children to explore their imaginations, to connect with other kids and to stretch and grow physically, emotionally and socially. Our experience is that diminishing opportunities for unsupervised play in our society have left kids with a very thin understanding of how to manage their own play and that it is important to have grown-ups introduce some basic rules to make play work. On our playgrounds, kids feel safe and included, a part of the action. Games are safe and organized. Any kid is welcome and able to play in any game. We believe that kids have innate leadership, and give them easy ways to take ever-increasing responsibility for the quality of play and for each other. Ultimately our unique brand of play fosters greater independence and leadership among children.In partnership with teachers, principals and parents, we build a culture of play that enables kids to feel a real sense of belonging and have the opportunity to contribute on the playground, in the classroom and into their communities. We are huge fans of rock-paper-scissors. Building a play culture that acknowledges the arbitrariness of most conflicts and provides a simple, playful tool for addressing them, ultimately makes it easier for kids to recognize and address more serious conflicts.

We believe there is value in having adults play alongside of children. A grown-up standing on the sidelines barking instructions only serves to perpetuate the less-than-playful status quo. But when adults get in the game and actually play themselves, it introduces an important element of whim and shared humanity, making the play more accessible, and helping children feel safer and more connected.

We incorporate competitive activities into our programming, but we strive to do it in a developmentally appropriate way. One amazing thing about play is this: kids’ desire to keep the activity going will motivate them to take actions that are actually in the best interest of the larger group. Most often this manifests as self-handicapping: switching players, adapting the rules, etc. to keep some balance and ensure that everyone is having enough fun to continue playing.

Our belief is that creating options for children to engage in healthy, inclusive play represents an important opportunity for learning to deal with both winning and losing with grace.

– See more at: http://www.pacificnw.playworks.org/about/why-playworks#sthash.eDI4erP2.dpuf

Elisa Klein

I’ve been a professional journalist and writer since 1987, (and long-time reporter for KOIN-TV.) As a nationally published reporter, with a Master’s Degree in Journalism, I love to report positive news and information. Journalism has also connected me with another non-profit where I served as a leader; the Northwest’s biggest writer’s organization: The Willamette Writers.