Playworks Coach: Hana Chamoun

  1. Updates

It is hard to believe that it has really only been a handful of months since I started as an AmeriCorps volunteer, working with Playworks Pennsylvania. It feels like so much growth has happened in these past few months, showing me the reciprocal learning that has informed my practice as a development practitioner, and the impact of my service.

My Junior Coaches are perhaps my best example of the influence that my service has had. Watching my 17 students learn, grow, and change through new leadership experiences has been striking and eye opening. These 4th and 5th graders are thriving in this often difficult leadership role. My Junior Coaches are given time most after-school sessions to share out about their experiences, and learn from others successes and failures. Together these scholars are becoming a powerful unit, made up of strong individual leaders.

The year is not over yet, and I am excited to see what comes next for my students. I am grateful to my service as it has allowed me to learn how change can and will happen, both on the individual and community level.

 
 
 

More Updates


January 10, 2023

Understanding the Complex Simplicities of Play ›

Play is a behavior that is natural and has existed for thousands of years and across species. It combines a set of made-up rules or norms and a willingness to explore. Researchers, scientists, and doctors have studied the effects of play on kids–and adults–and understand that this natural behavior has tremendous benefits. As the American…

three people with Playworks shirts
three people with Playworks shirts

July 28, 2022

A year of social and emotional learning ›

“You can’t do SEL, trauma, or equity work without each other,” Jennette Claassen, Head of Evaluation, Playworks. As Playworks continued to progress on our equity journey, we explored a critical question: what are the intersections between play, social and emotional learning, physical activity, and trauma? A working group focused on this question decided, among other…

August 24, 2021

Playworks Founder Jill Vialet Publishes ‘Why Play Works’ ›

Play brings out the best in every kid. Over the course of 25 years since Jill Vialet founded Playworks, she and her colleagues, as well as researchers and play experts, have demonstrated precisely how and why play works to help kids learn and grow in the most positive and healthy ways. Jill gathered stories from people…