Playing for Others

Playing for Others (PFO) began in 2006 as a volunteer project. Today the organization serves 75 teens and 36 children with disabilities and their siblings in total, for a 10-month program. PFO provides a space for teens to explore and answer the questions, “Who Am I?” and “How will I give of that?” through programming in Personal Development, Service, and the Arts. “Who Am I?” is the critical question teens are asking themselves during the adolescent developmental stage and beyond. Up until now, they have defined who they are from their parents. And while this is still their greatest influence, they are now exploring other avenues from which to answer this question. PFO empowers teens with the understanding that “who we are” is “whoever we say we are”. We get to define and claim that for ourselves. We do not tell teens who they should be, how they should act, what they should believe, instead we provide a rich variety of experiences in which they explore, discover, and step into who they are, all while being surrounded by supportive, loving role models in a safe, fun, positive, creative, amazing environment. “How will I give of that?” moves teens from focusing solely on themselves, and instead suggests an “inside out” model. When we decide and fully step into who we are, we naturally give of that to those around us. When we become leaders of our own lives first, we naturally become strong leaders to others. The more we love ourselves, the more we increase our capacity to love others. The desire to serve and give isn't something we feel like we “have” to do, but something we want to do because it is woven into the very fabric of who we are.