March Newsball 2018
Playing Catch-Up with the Life is Good Playmakers
Something truly unexpected happened this month: Oprah joined the Playmaker Movement! Now don’t get me wrong, she doesn’t know (yet) that she joined the movement, but she did. No doubt about it, Oprah’s a Playmaker.
On CBS’s 60 Minutes, Oprah reported on the importance of addressing the epidemic of childhood trauma. If you missed it, I suggest that you give it a watch.
I knew as soon as she referenced Dr. Bruce Perry, who’s also devoted his career to healing childhood trauma, that she had done her homework. Dr. Perry shared that the most important factor in helping a child heal from trauma is (in one word), relationships.
“What he really means is love,” said Oprah. “He’s a scientist. He’s not going to use the word ‘love.’”
Well, we are.
Every day, The Life is Good Playmakers helps childcare professionals build safe, loving, life-changing relationships with deeply wounded children. It is through these relationships that children are able to heal, grow and eventually thrive.
Only an optimist – a person who can see the good in themselves and in others – has the capacity to love. And love is powerful medicine.
Thank you – and Oprah – for helping to spread the power of optimism.
Love & Peace,
Steve Gross, MSW
Chief Playmaker, Life is Good Playmakers
GOOD PROGRESS
Our Work in the Field
Newton Public Schools
Following last month’s keynote by LiGP Steve Gross to the entire community of Newtown, Connecticut, we kicked off a new stage of partnership with Newtown Public Schools. The LiGP offered our Playmaker 101 workshop to more than 100 Newtown teachers, and administrators, as well as other school and community leaders. The LiGP has engaged with Newtown parents, leaders, and childcare professionals for several years now and our extended work with the school system is generously sponsored by the
Riley Children's Hospital
March marked the move to our second phase of work with Riley Children’s Hospital in Indiana. The LiGP facilitated our Playmaker 202, a two-day retreat for self-selected hospital staff who’ve attended our Playmaker 101 workshop. During this retreat, they continued to cultivate a strong, positive culture for both providers and patients. They chose to leave titles and roles at the door and go deep into the development of action plans to build an even greater sense of joy, connection, engagement, and empowerment throughout their entire care community.
Cook Children's Medical Center
This month, The LiGP also traveled to visit our partners at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Ft. Worth, TX to facilitate another series of 202 Playmaker Retreats for more than 40 members of the hospital’s care team. Each action plan created during our 202s is unique to each partners’ specific needs and approaches. But the desired outcomes are always the same: Building life-changing relationships between professional care providers and the children they serve, as well as trusted, loving relationships between teams and professional care providers throughout the hospital.
Learn more about our partners at Cook Children’s Medical Center.
GOOD GROWTH
Our Work to Raise Support
Running on Optimism
Late last year, an optimist named Dan Black asked us if he could run the Boston Marathon in support of our mission to spread the power of optimism to help kids heal. When we asked Dan how he connected to the power of optimism, his answer blew us away.
Share the Love
On March 28, 100 optimists gathered at MetroWest Subaru to Share the Love. For the third year in a row, MetroWest Subaru selected The LiGP as their hometown charity during their Share the Love campaign, which ran from November 17, 2017 – January 2, 2018. During that time, $250 of every car bought or leased at MetroWest Subaru Natick earned another $250 donation to support our mission. This year, the campaign raised more than $62,000 for The LiGP. Thank you! We feel the love.
Listen to Your Heart
The LiGP are grateful to our many friends and supporters, including the positive change makers at ALEX AND ANI. Our Life is Good Collection by ALEX AND ANI’s Charity by Design has raised more than $280,000 to help more than 1 million children overcome the traumas associated with poverty, violence, and illness. And we’re not done yet!
GOOD PEOPLE
Our Playmakers
Since opening Reach for the Stars Child Development Center in the fall of 2009, Lisa Pease and her team of Playmakers have cared for hundreds of children whose lives have been impacted by drugs, violence, neglect, abuse, and other early childhood traumas.
GOT NEWS?
If you have news about a program, fundraiser, or event in support of The LiGP, let us know. We love hearing from you!
