Welcome Our Newest Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative Partners! - September 2022
Get to know the organizations and individuals joining the Pittsburgh Playful Collaborative as its newest members!
Kenny’s in Homewood, Demi Kolke
For Demi Kolke (founder), over 12 years working in Homewood gave her the opportunity to hear firsthand what one of the most divested neighborhoods in Pittsburgh desires for their community.
When you meet a longtime Homewood resident, one of the first conversations will assuredly be about ‘the way Homewood used to be’ -- the liveliness, bustling businesses, and sense of community.
Once overgrown and underutilized, Kenny’s is now a safe, vibrant place to cultivate community, enjoy positive and inclusive neighborhood experiences, and have fun. We exist to help give Homewood what it deserves: beautiful, bountiful spaces, abundant resources, love and support, and a neighborhood to be proud of.
To learn more, visit kennyshomewood.com.
Family Foundations, Donella Smith
Family Foundations Early Head Start is a program a part of the University of Pittsburgh’s office of Child Development. We operate in six communities such as Clairton, McKees Rocks, North Side, Hill District. East End and Braddock; where we provide in-home services to families who are expecting children from birth to age three. We offer in- home visits once a week for 90 minutes where families are provided with a home visitor who meet with the family weekly. We offer socializations twice a month for families to come meet with other families at our site or we plan off campus events to go to the zoo and or children’s museum. In addition to the socializations, we offer support services such as a nurse, nutritionist, child development specialist and mental health support.
To learn more, visit ocd.pitt.edu/programs-services/family-foundations-early-head-start.
Lion of Judah Enterprises, Teaira Collins
From the words of Founder, Teiera Collins:
“The reason why I started a non-profit? God blessed me with Judah on May 18, 2012, and I didn't know he had Down Syndrome until the day he was born. Yes, I was tested and it came back negative. I feel that was God's way of making sure he made it here. I will be very honest, I was very depressed and wondering why God would give me another child with special needs. But I was about to see that what I thought was him punishing me was about to change my life forever. I was about to see that Judah was going to be the greatest Gift God could have ever given me.
As I sat in my room holding this beautiful baby boy, and 3 very important people, my PCP, my Aunt, and my Co Worker had all said the same thing to me that he wasn't a punishment and stop looking at him as one and stop trying to figure out how to give him back. And start figuring out why he chose you for this. I was told to give him unconditional love and raise him the right way and watch how he was going to be the biggest blessing from God. The funny part was that they were all of the things that I was thinking but never had said them out loud so I knew God was right there showing me that he had a plan for me and I just needed to follow him.
My PCP had told me that he took care of the adults with Down Syndrome and that Judah had a very mild case and that he would be very highly functional and that knowing I was a good mom, as he said, Judah would be just fine. So as I started to prove all of the Doctor's wrong in the Down Syndrome clinic who said Judah wouldn't walk and talk until he was 5. My children and I sat out to prove the world wrong. So we taught Judah sign language. We worked with Judah day and night with the help of Ties for Early Intervention. I would go live on Facebook with what he was learning and how I had accomplished it. People started watching and noticing what I was doing.
It wasn't until we were downtown walking and this lady asked me, “How do you do that?” I had no idea what she was talking about so I asked her what she said, “Don't he have Down Syndrome,” I said yes, why? She said, “How did you get him to walk without holding your hand?”
At this time Judah was about 3 years old. I said, I taught him that. She said, “I have a child who is 13 at home with Down Syndrome and I can't take him anywhere," now I know this sounds mean, but I told her that was her fault. She asked me for my number. I gave it to her, and I told her we were on Facebook, and we do live videos called “Living in Ju Bugs Would.” After having him I had to change my way of thinking I couldn't raise him the way I had raised my other kids. He has his own mind, and his own way of doing things and when we did it his way, life was so much easier for me. Everything wasn't a fight. More people started following me and asking questions.
I realized only then that he was here to change people's lives and to help others. That is how we began the Lion of Judah Enterprises. We were able to get him to walk before he was 3 and he signed over 200 words by the time he was 3. And we have been helping people of color ever since, and it feels good to know that Judah is so loved by the world and he has changed my life in such a way that I would have ever imagined. It feels so great to live in Ju Bugs Would and help others: that I know, for that he is the best Gift and blessing that God has ever given me. I wouldn't change anything in the world, and I would tell anyone who is about to have a child with Down Syndrome that this is the biggest blessing and one hell of a roller coaster ride but it is a ride of your life. And you won't want to get off, because this sour patch kid is the most loving and kind hearted you will ever meet. I love this kid, and so does the world. Living in Ju Bugs World is great and if you don't believe me, come get on this ride with me.”
To learn more, visit lionofjudah.enterprises.
Carnegie Mellon Entertainment and Technology Center, John Balash (CMU ETC)
The Entertainment Technology Center is an interdisciplinary research center offering a Master of Entertainment Technology (MET) that is a joint venture between Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science and College of Fine Arts that was founded in 1998. In the spirit of the ETC’s interdisciplinary focus, the center had two co-directors; Randy Pausch, a CS professor (who later delivered his inspirational Last Lecture), and Don Marinelli, a Drama Professor.
The directors set ETC’s mission to combine art and technology at the core of an applied research, inquiry-focused education. The ETC has been committed to challenging students from a diversity of backgrounds to study and work together on applied design-based research projects, developing their skills as leaders in terms of assuming responsibility for their role on a team as well as in terms of doing innovative work and pushing the envelope in the field. ETC’s curriculum focuses on meaningful and transformational play, which balances educational goals, professional development, and engaging experiences, or learn, work and play.
To learn more, visit www.etc.cmu.edu.
Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, Maria Cohen
To learn more, visit shuc.org.
