My Journey as an Intern with Let's Play America
In January 2024, I had the privilege of joining Let's Play America as an intern during my senior year at the University of Maryland. Play has always been important to me and now I have the chance to bring my passion for it to the community. The first task I was given was to read over and become familiar with the Play Day Handbook, which was crafted by volunteers from Let’s Play America. This resource is so invaluable to anyone who is thinking of planning a Play Day for their community, providing a wealth of knowledge, it got me so pumped for my internship.
One of my first in-person duties for my internship was an exciting one! Let’s Play America’s 14th Annual Mid-Winter Play Day was held on Sunday, February 11, 2024. The day started at 10:15 as I arrived at Pat, The Play Lady’s home to begin helping with loading equipment. As someone who’s been to a lot of events where I’ve had to load things in and out I was happily surprised at the speed and efficiency. Because of Pat's organization and with the help of so many eager volunteers, unloading and setting up went by like a breeze.
Right before the official start of Play Day, we gathered for a group photo, which definitely enhanced the feeling of community amongst the volunteers and members. The play pledge was read before we dispersed to finish the last touches of set up.
The Play Day began with a fun game of Simon Says graciously led by Congressman Jamie Raskin. People seemed to be very engaged which was aided by the Congressman’s upbeat energy and comments. There was a wide variety of activities I noticed such as the face painting station, the sketch artist, the dress up area. I personally enjoyed jumbo chess the most, but I found playing with the younger children and the balloon shooter cylindrical machine was quite cute.
At the Play Day, the main event was the Washington Adventist Acro Air team and overall it was quite cool! The flips and routines felt very professional and were very entertaining. They were getting cheered on for pretty much every move and in general I’d say that the crowd seemed to really enjoy it.
Having a place and event where the community can come together is extremely important. Play is something that unites us all as it’s one of the most basic needs that is so often not thought about as we get older. Everyone can play, which means it’s important for older people but most importantly for children who learn so much more effectively through play than very structured learning. I believe it’s important for events such as these to be free for the community. Holding an event like this enables all those attending to be able to play regardless of socioeconomic status.
As people filtered out and we began to break down the event, I thought about how many happy children I saw and this inspirational idea of a play day which, prior to Let’s Play America, I hadn't even heard. I reflected on the importance of such an event. Overall, even with less people then with the set up, the loading out section of the day went quite smoothly and effectively. I’ve been to so many events where everyone leaves and doesn’t help or the setup and breakdown is so inefficient and slow. This experience was the exact opposite of that. People lending hands and the job going rapidly made it a great ending to a great day!
