In celebration of the National Children’s Month this November, Play It Forward and their partners – play champions – came up with different ways of participating in this week-long celebration.
Happening from November 18 to 24, 2018, Play Advocacy Week is a campaign led by Play It Forward, Unilab Foudation’s therapeutic play program for children in vulnerable areas. The program is founded on the belief that every child has the right to play, and that play is essential in the mental health and holistic development of children.
With more than 30 partners from the government, corporate companies, the academe, and the healthcare sector, Play It Forward wants to reach as many people as possible in order to make play happen.
You too can be part of the Play Advocacy Week! Here are some of the activities organized by our Play Champions:
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PLAY with colors at the Color Run Hero Tour.
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Watch a local theater PLAY with your kids at PETA.
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PLAY with your imagination and make dolls with scraps, at Museo Pambata’s Doll Making Workshop.
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Unleash the power of Role-PLAY at KidZania.
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PLAY in costume with Star Wars characters.
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Join the PLAY Sessions at Ronald McDonald’s Bahay Bulilit.
Play champions from the Philippine Heart Center, WWF-Philippines, Bantay Bata 163 and Vico’s Artism will also be holding their own play activities during the week. Our friends from Philippine Pediatrics Society and A Child's D.R.E.A.M. Foundation will be championing play through social media campaigns.
Ayala Malls-Solenad will have giant art installations that feature traditional Filipino games. This is in line with Tukod Foundation’s Awit at Laro campaign, which celebrates the spirit of play.
For a full list of activities during the Play Advocacy Week, follow www.facebook.com/PlayItForwardPH!
But wait, there’s more!
Play It Forward has invited renowned artists to paint murals in the foundation’s key partner areas. 3D artist Archie Blanco will go to Play It Forward’s first ever play space in Cagayan De Oro, while Ged Alangui of the STOBOSA artwork in Baguio will visit the National Children’s Hospital in Quezon City. Together with volunteers from Gawad Kalinga and Play It Forward, these artists will bring a bit more color to the lives of the children in these communities.
Play It Forward invites more Play Champions to help promote the children’s right to play. Since 2012, the program has been able to conduct over 3,000 play sessions, and has reached over 7,000 pediatric patients and children from vulnerable areas.
The Play Advocacy Week is endorsed by the Council for the Welfare of Children.
For partnerships and more information about the Play Advocacy Week, please contact the secretariat at (+632) 858-1000 local 8163 or email [email protected]. You may also visit www.facebook.com/PlayItForwardPH and www.unilabfoundation.org.