Play Club Makes a Statement

What started as a friendly neighborhood non-school-related project has blossomed into so much more. Play Club, inaugurated in response to the most recent presidential election, and composed of Wyncote and Cedarbrook East students, formed when these students started asking, “What can we do?” to help the region’s immigrant population. Plenty, it turns out. 

Most recently, members of the group spoke at the Welcoming Center’s Solas Gala at the Franklin Institute. With club members standing behind them, a few members of the Play Club spoke about the group and the work it’s done to raise awareness and funds (including raising over $1,000) for the Welcoming Center’s work, which is to open doors of economic opportunity for immigrants of all education and skill levels and build immigrants’ individual and collective agency to address barriers to integration and well-being.

“We felt the need to rise up to help people affected by the harsh words being said about immigrants,” a member said. 

“If we’re all here from immigrants, then why is society mistreating and shunning them?” a member asked. 

Play Club has launched the campaigns “Fight for U.S.” and “Subscribe to Equity.” As part of these projects, Play Cub wrote speeches, sang songs, made “Bravery” buttons and created a flag from Post-It Notes with their pledges to the U.S. This past September, the Welcoming Center invited the students for a visit to learn about the center, its activities and what it was doing to help the immigrant population. The students also started going to protests and being more vocal about immigrant rights. They even spoke at a township commissioners’ meeting about Cheltenham’s welcoming policy, and encouraged the commissioners to pass the policy, which they did.
 
In October, the group staged the musical “The Wiz” at the Elkins Park home of the Saavedra family because the play “is about a diverse group of people coming together to reach a common goal,” Abram said in his remarks at the gala. The group recently held its winter showcase, comprising skits and speeches about being welcoming. Each piece was connected to supporting immigrants.

Can’t wait to see what this group of Cheltenham students has planned next!