Playing for Others

Ali Ozmeral: March

savvy — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:54:28 +0000

Dear Journey Group,
Playing for Others not only involves the arts, buddies, and develops teen leadership, but also engages the community we live in, in its organization. Each PFO buddy event, such as the art and music buddy events, we have brought in local basket weavers, face painters, and musicians. Playing for Others strives to make our community aware of PFO and aware of the teens and adults who are contributing to make it such a successful nonprofit organization. Two Open houses are held each year, one in the fall and one in the spring, to give the community a taste of playing for others and let them become involved. PFO engaged the community in the fall open house by having tours through the various rooms of Whitehead Manor. Each one of these rooms shared another layer of Playing for Other’s to our community through dance, music or poetry.
Another remarkable way Playing for Others is involving our community is through the dance experience. This year is the first ever dance experience in Playing for Others and it’s going to be a magical performance. They have been commissioned by ten local community members to tell their story through a dance. Once a community member asked to commission a piece in the dance experience, they will be interviewed. This interview will guide the dancers piece as they honor, remember or tell the community members story through their movements and expressions. On the final day of the dance experience performance clips of those interviews will be played before the dancing starts, ultimately uniting Playing for Others and our community.
Playing for Others is continuing to grow and gain recognition in our community. It stands for a great cause, and develops so many teens into responsible, mature young adults. Each day the community is becoming more and more aware of PFO’s purpose and is wanting to get involved. It’s neat to see where playing for others started and how far it has come since then, and to be a part of PFO helping engage the community, is an unforgettable experience. Thanks for following my journey!

Addy Allred: March

savvy — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 04:05:26 +0000

Aaron Tran: March

savvy — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 04:04:40 +0000

Hello Journey Group!

This month, I’m here to talk to you about the Arts Experiences of Playing For Others! The Arts Experiences are several week long programs that involve intense interaction and creativity with a great number of PFO teens and advisers. This year, PFO has the music, theatre, and the new dance experience. Though each experience caters towards a central theme, teens do not have to have prior knowledge of it. There are many different ways for a teen to get involved in the Arts Experiences.
This year, I did not participate in an Arts Experience, but after hearing about what all the other teens are saying about them, I sort of regret not taking one on. I will definitely be going to see the shows they put on, though. If you are interested in seeing any of the shows being put on by one or all of the experiences, please purchase your tickets before they sell out! They are perfect for family outings.
Also, if you have donated, I’d like to thank you for your contribution towards my goal. I really appreciate it. It goes toward a program that I truly love and every little bit helps PFO live on!

Sincerely,
Aaron Tran

Margaret Bryant: March

savvy — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 04:03:16 +0000

Sarah Grace Young: March

savvy — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 04:02:32 +0000

Hey Journey Group!

As I’m sure all of you know by now Playing for Others has been an absolute amazing experience for me and I couldn’t ask for anything better then this. Community outreach is a big part of PFO we are always looking for ways to better the community and the people in it, and the best way to start that is with ourselves. Part of PFO is focused on helping everyone become the best person they can. Every weekend after our committee meetings we have “life talks” that two PFO teens put together to help us build better relationships with our families, friends and ourselves. The talks are very inspiring and when we all leave we go out and try to make our community better in someway with the tools we learned in our life talks.

That of course is not the only way we try to better the community. I have briefly told you about how we partner up with another organization each year and make a donation to them with the money we raise during the year at various events. A few years ago, for example, we donated a new hours and trailer to Mighty Riders and last year we donated a virtual music program to Metro School. With these donations we hope to better the community in some way.

We also try to spread awareness of the disability community. We all try to keep in mind that “Having perceptions of people is a neutral tendency. The important part of which is having a clear perspective of people and who they truly are.” This is something we learned as soon as we entered PFO and something we all try to live by. The more we talk about people with disabilities and the more people we help understand them the better the community is.

Thanks for all the support!
Sarah Grace Young

Katka Swaim: March

savvy — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 04:02:08 +0000

Zarya James: March

savvy — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 04:01:25 +0000

Dear Journey Group
I Hope everyone is having a good spring so far. The Playing For Others year 11-12 is coming to an end, but there are still a few more things to come! I have learned a lot. PFO has opened my eyes to new things that i never paid much mind about. PFO has thought me to stand up about what I believe. This year I made PFO’s Community Engagement by spreading the word. I tell my friend and teachers and they tell their friends. I let them know why it’s important to me and I try to get them to come to events when we have them. This organization has helped me to see life from a new perspective. PFO is a way to express yourself without having to worry what anybody is going to think of you. PFO has made a Huge impact on my life so I home what it has done for me it can do for someone else.
Thanks again for all the support!
Zarya James

McCaela Sullivan: March

savvy — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 04:00:27 +0000

Hello Journey Group!
Over the past eight months, Playing for Others has become my second family. Whether I am going to a committee meeting, an Arts Experience rehearsal, a Buddy Event, or a special event for the teens, I always feel like I am coming home. There is an unspoken agreement between all of the teens in Playing for Others: everyone is accepted and appreciated for who they are as a person and for everything they have to offer. It is difficult to explain the atmosphere of Playing for Others because it is unlike anything I have ever experienced before. It is one of those things that you just have to experience for yourself.
Luckily Playing for Others offers many opportunities for the community to become a member of the family! In the fall and spring, Playing for Others holds an Open House that allows the community to sneak a peek into the incredible world of PFO (In fact spring Open House is coming up on Saturday, April 21!!). Open House presents an excellent opportunity for the community to experience the various artistic talents, accomplishments, and goals of Playing for Others as an organization. I highly recommend that you check it out if you can! PFO also holds an Arts Festival at the beginning of May that includes a Theatre Experience, Dance Experience, and Music Experience. All of these incredible events are open to the public so everyone can experience the PFO spirit!
I can not wait to share Playing for Others with you all at the events this spring! Be sure to check some of them out!! Talk to you next month!

McCaela

Daniel Pang: March

savvy — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 03:58:30 +0000

Hey Journey Group,

This month I’m going to talk to you about PFO’s community engagement and outreach. The community plays a big role in PFO. In PFO, we have many activities/events that the public can attend. One of these events is the PFO open house. The community attendance is very important for this event. The community can then spread the word of PFO if they attend. These events are good ways for the community to learn more about PFo and what it does. I highly encourage you to go to one!

People in PFO have also spread awareness in the community. We have reached out to the community and showed people the goals and motives for PFO. We have also showed potential corporate sponsors these goals as well. Many of them were interested in PFO and later became a corporate sponsor.

PFO have had a lot of community engagement this year. There have been many people that have attended our events this year. I think that this has been PFO’s most successful year so far!

Thanks for reading; talk to you guys next month!
Daniel Pang

Anna Claire Joyner: March

savvy — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 03:58:00 +0000

Dear Journey Group,

Happy Spring! I hope that you are all getting excited about the warm weather, I know that I am! Playing For Others has a ton of special event coming up that we want the community to get involved in. This year we have performed at multiple festivals and are getting ready for our Spring Open House coming up on April 21st at Whitehead Manor starting at 5:30. Open House is a great way to see exactly what Playing For Others is and everyone is invited! If you have any questions about the organization they will all be answered at this event. Another thing that PFO likes to get the community involved in is the Arts Festival that we put on during the end of April and beginning of May. Arts Festival is a festival where all the teens get to perform what they have been working on for the past two months; whether that be music, theater, or dance, all of the performances happen during Arts Festival. Thanks for reading!

Anna Claire Joyner