Radio celebrities Kojo Nnamdi and Angie Ange Dedicate Air Time to the Power of Play!
Playworks is the leading nonprofit helping kids build valuable social and emotional skills through play. Through two recent on-air interviews, NPR’s Kojo Nnamdi and Angie Ange of WKYS 93.9 are doing their part to raise awareness about the need, impact, and status of kindness, inclusion, and safe play within the DMV.
Kojo Nnamdi from the Kojo Show spoke to our Executive Director, Jennifer Gennaro Oxley; Virginia delegate, Karrie Delaney; and founder of More Recess for Virginians, Barbara Larrimore to discuss the incredible new VA recess law. This innovative law not only doubles recess time/day but also states that social and emotional learning and recess are now a part of instructional time. This means that schools are now incentivized to focus on their student’s emotional well-being along with academics! Kojo’s interview and more can be found here.
Angie Ange, the recent co-host of the 2019 Junior Coach Leadership Conference at Capital One arena that celebrates our youth leaders NOW, hosted Jennifer and our Junior Coach Makayah of Payne Elementary on the WKYS public affairs show in April. The goal was to bring awareness to our awesome kids and the much-needed work we do in the community. The interview highlights Makayah, who discusses what she loves about being a leader at her school. As a Junior Coach, Makayah spoke fondly about how she is learning how to:
- handle difficult situations,
- help kids who feel left out to belong,
- include everyone rather than playing with a regular small group of friends, and
- lead her peers in new and inclusive games!
Listen to the recording here. Angie spoke about how unique and necessary Playworks is, how kindness is a more rare commodity in our society today, and how inspired she was from watching Makayah find and use her voice for good. Playworks and Leadership NOW alike want all kids to know that no one is alone and that everyone has the power to make others feel welcome and important!
