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Coined after the Block Captain and Jr. Block Captain roles, the Play Captains Initiative "is a leadership and civic-engagement strategy for teens to make the Play Streets more playful."
Click here to read the SUMMER 2017 FACT SHEET
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There are over 600 Play Streets in Philadelphia, which are part of the Free Summer Meal Program, overseen by Parks & Recreation and serve as a safe place for children to receive two free meals a day during the summer;
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The Play Streets are closed off to cars between 10am-4pm;
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A resident on the block applies to be a Play Street Supervisor and 70% of the block needs to sign on their approval for the Play Street; and
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Not all of the Play Streets as ’playful’ as they could be.
THE GOALS of the Play Captain Initiative are to:
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Create a summer job for teens;
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Create leadership opportunities for teens;
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Empower teens to be change agents in the community;
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Increase utilization of the Play Streets; and
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Work across City agencies and youth-serving systems to leverage resources, meet common goals and to support Play Captains.
THE ADVISORY TEAM we have created a strong advisory team to help build out the initiative including:
Michael Imperato, Operations & Scale
Reggie Jones, MSS, MLSP, LCSW, Mental Health
Bill McKinney, Ph.D, M.A.A, Evaluation
Kerry Wilson, Esq., Risk Management
Shushma Shah, Development