On the morning of Friday, May 10, 2019, over 200 corporate and civic leaders from across Greater Boston gathered at the University of Massachusetts Club for our fourth annual Playworks Get in the Game Breakfast.
Against a backdrop of a panoramic view of Boston, Paula Ebben of WBZ-TV kicked off the event as our emcee. Paula Ebben welcomed guests and introduced Playworks Executive Director Jon Gay for opening remarks.
The theme of the event was ‘Building Future Leaders,’ and we were joined by a panel of current and former Playworks Junior Coaches. These young leaders responded to questions about how Playworks has supported them to grow and learn through teamwork and play. These students remarked on how Playworks supported them to become more confident and better team players.
Janelys, a current high school student at Snowden International School, responded to the question: Why do you think every kid deserves to have Playworks?
“There’s a lot of stress in kids lives,” she said “There’s homework, school, family drama, and Playworks and recess can help relieve some of these stressors. When we’re playing outside we can forget about the stress in our lives.”
Following our Junior Coach panel, Paula Ebben introduced the recipients of our 2019 Gamechanger Awards: Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island President and CEO Kim Keck accepted the awards and gave remarks about the success of our #RecessRocksinRI initiative across the state.
“Working together with Playworks and Rhode Island Healthy Schools Coalition,” said Kim, “we’re creating a movement for safe, inclusive, active, and equitable play for all citizens as a means to realize our vision for Rhode Island.”
We also heard from Governor Raimondo in a video address in which she thanked Playworks for our partnership and encouraged the community to continue to support safe, active, and inclusive play in schools.
Because of your sponsorship, along with donations made by guests during the event, $104,000 in total funds were raised. These contributions will allow Playworks to continue our expansion across the New England region.
Thank you to our presenting sponsors, John Hancock and New Balance Foundation, and our event sponsors, Alexion, the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, Eastern Bank, Health Management Resources, Howland Capital, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Nutter Law, and Stop & Shop for making this event possible. Thank you to our Host Committee members for your support in making this event a success. Last but not least, our heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined us at the Get in the Game Breakfast this year. Check out our Facebook album for highlights.
