Last Thursday I got to experience first-hand the great
impact Play Me, I’m Yours has on our community! After the great fun the youth
at HOME had while painting and decorating the piano, we decided to be the first
visitors and musicians to its installation site near the capitol fountain. With
nine youth and two staff including myself, we made our way down to the Capitol
on one of the hottest afternoons of the year.
After finding their decorations and hand-prints and giving their piano
skills a whirl, many of the teens’ eyes quickly fell onto the cool fountain in
the distance. Before we knew it, everyone was cooling off, fully-clothed, in
the fountains in front of the Capitol! After playing in and enjoying the water
and sun we slowly made our way back to HOME. One 11-year old boy turned to me
on the walk back and said with a huge smile on his face: “This was the most
epic day at the drop-in ever!” All I could think about was how effective Play
Me, I’m Yours had been for our organization. Without our piano, the trip to the
Capitol might not have happened and although our journey involved more running
through water with our clothes on than actual music making, it was a perfect
example of how Play Me, I’m Yours enables people to “engage with and take ownership of their urban
environment.”
