We PLAY Center expands at Sojourner Truth Center

1st October 2018   ·   0 Comments

By Victoria Clark
Contributing Writer

A little girl ran through the door as she reached for a blue truck to play with. Christine Neely, co-founder of the We PLAY Center, turned around to greet a mother who just heard about the center. There are very few places in New Orleans that provide free educational services for children from birth to the age of three, but the We PLAY Center aims to fill that void.

Neely smiled at the child and said, “Look and she’s moving right along,” as the child pushed the blue truck on the table.

The We PLAY Center is a learning-play space provided by New Orleans-based non-profit TrainingGrounds, which works to improve child development practices in the city. On Oct. 5, the center will be celebrating its move from Corpus Christi Church to the Sojourner Truth Center at 2200 Lafitte Ave. A ceremony will be held at the Sojourner Truth Center starting at 10:30 a.m. with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 11 a.m.

Local officials expected to attend the re-opening event include District D Council Member Jared Brossett; Orleans Parish School Board Member Leslie Ellison; Terri North, the chief executive office for Providence Community Housing; and Jenn Roberts, the executive for the New Orleans Early Education Network.

“I know having the growing number of families that are new, plus our normal flow of parents and children here, that we needed to re-open in a larger space sooner than later, “Neely said.

The new center is free and will be open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9-11 a.m. It seeks to serve low to middle-income families needing city solutions for early childhood development. As the program continues to increase in size, a new space was needed, Neely said. So, the We PLAY Center moved down the street from the old location at the church, to the Sojourner Truth Center. TrainingGounds received funding support for the relocation from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Institute for Mental Health and the GPOA Foundation.

The center first set out to change young lives 10 years ago now at the Corpus Christi Church. Co-founders Neely and Melanie Richardson hope to serve any and every family that needs an active space. Neely explained that the more participants there were, the more a new building was needed.

Sometimes a child’s smile is the only validation a person needs to know that their job is being done correctly, and at the We PLAY Center, smiles and success for children is what co-founders Neely and Richardson said they aim for. Neely, who has been an educator for 20 years, explained that the plan for children goes beyond education.

“I think our goal for any child that’s born is ultimate success at life, in relationships, in school, and education,” Neely said.

Even though the center is for children to learn in their first three years of life, that is not its only focus. The program looks to help children learn their basics, like counting, but also tries to help parents and local guardians master parenting. As the children learn their ABCs, parents learn about what interactions contribute to healthy brain development. While doing this, parents create a small support system amongst themselves, Richardson said.

“Since opening its doors, the We PLAY Center has assisted parents and caregivers with gaining a better understanding of the types of interactions that contribute to healthy brain development,” Richardson said.

“It has created a sense of community among parents and caregivers where they can openly ask questions and express the challenges of being a parent in a supportive environment,” she added.

The We PLAY Center shows a rare program that benefits children and parents. This is one of the ways the center is different from a lot of other programs. Both co-founders think the program should be used as an example for other community programs. Considering it is the only We PLAY Center currently in Louisiana, Richardson explained that producing more would help communities that need them.

“TrainingGrounds is committed to opening We PLAY Centers throughout the city of New Orleans and eventually throughout the state of Louisiana,” Richardson said, “We want this center to serve as a demonstration of best practices for building a village of support for parents, caregivers, and children that center on the importance of the first three years of life on brain development and enhancing parenting skills.”

As the placement for the program moved to the Sojourner Truth Center, the co-founders knew that they were making a move in the right direction, but that does not stop the memories from a first start.

“You always remember your first start, the people who believed in you believed in their community that this was needed. I think that just holds a special place in our hearts, “Neely said.

The reopening is the start of a new beginning.

This article originally published in the October 1, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.