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Nancy Serrand, a mother of two and happily married for 18 years, is no stranger to the phrase, "necessity is the mother of invention." Nancy is currently the Code Enforcement Officer for the City of Canton and the Chairperson of the KaBOOM! Playful City USA committee. Nancy and her Playful City USA committee have been active in their community of Canton with several play initiatives to help create time and safe places to play. The following is our interview with Nancy.
Why are you an advocate for play? What got you started in this area/issue?
As a Code Enforcement Officer, my job includes maintaining the health, safety and welfare of the community as well as helping to retain the value of the community. As part of this effort, we participated in the Great American Clean Up, the nation's largest community improvement program. One of the accomplishments suggested through the program was rebuilding a park. In a search for funding we found the KaBOOM! Playful City USA program. This helped us to elevate awareness on the conditions of our local playspace and gave us the support and knowledge needed to promote play.
How did you garner support for your effort?
In fulfilling the requirements of the Playful City USA program, which includes establishing a task force or committee on play, I was able to bring together a team of people who are as excited about play as I am. Together we have worked hard to help bring our community leaders in line with our goals.
What are some actions you have taken in your community to promote play?
Our play committee has hosted a community Play Day which has brought greater interest and involvement by community members in play and our playspaces. We’ve planned an Art in the Park contest that has resulted in a mural of the winner’s artwork on two walls of a local playspace. We have participated in the Great American Clean Up once again. We are rebuilding Burge Park, a local playspace. We have planned a Street Painting Festival for the fall. And, last but not least, our next Play Day will take place in December.
How are you attempting to engage the community on this issue?
By implementing community participation in our all of our play activities, we have and will continue to engage community members. The plan is to take baby steps and gather support each step of the way.
What challenges have you faced in trying to make time and space for play in your community? How are you trying to overcome those challenges?
The biggest challenge is money, even more so than time. When preparing to revitalize a local playspace, we looked at installing modern equipment, but that was well beyond our budget. We then looked at playspace ideas that help grow the imagination and once we got to that concept, we were able to rock and roll forward. By changing our concept and being creative, we have been able to work towards more opportunities for community play and the ability to build more playgrounds.
It isn't the number of people or a large amount of money that make the difference. It is the energy, creativity and ability to think big when your pockets are empty. No matter what the economy is, people not only want, but need to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Play is a great way to fill that need.
Congratulations Nancy on all the amazing work you are doing as a Playmaker!
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