A Powerful Partnership in an Innovative Children and Family Center
Play & Learn L.A. seeks a partnership with an established social services agency to operate an innovative Children and Family Center to be placed in a low-income community in South or East L.A. This Center would be comprised of two components, both of which provide important learning opportunities for families: a Play Center and a Family Center. The Play Center, to be operated by Play & Learn L.A., would provide children and their families and caretakers the opportunity to play and learn together in an educationally enriched environment. The Play Center’s “galleries” would feature the types of interactive exhibits and props commonly found in children’s discovery museums and offer programming to increase the educational value of the experience. The Family Center, to be operated by the social service agency, would offer the basic services that the social service agency currently provides and may include “baby and me” and educational programming for the entire family.
Play & Learn L.A. Is With the Community
Play & Learn L.A.’s Board of Directors are comprised of community organizers, educators and business leaders. We are all parents of young children and come from different ethnicities and economic backgrounds. We believe in Play & Learn L.A. because it introduces the type of social innovation greatly needed for children in low-income communities. The Creed of our Board of Directors comes from our community organizing background: Play & Learn L.A. will only survive & thrive if the community believes in it and invests in it. Our mission comes from our experience as educators and parents: to promote hands-on learning through interactive play, respond to the critical needs in our schools for educational enrichment programs and bring resources to the community to provide parent and early education programming.
The Social Service Agency Would Benefit From This Partnership by Allowing Expansion During Economic Recession
As the Chronicle of Philanthropy recommends, groups collaborating together is key to attract new funders in economically disastrous times like the present. Bringing the first-ever “children’s discovery museum” (aka Play Center) to low-income communities in Los Angeles with exciting and educational interactive exhibits and galleries will capture the attention of the community, Los Angeles leaders and donors. It also provides leverage to any agency that is seeking to acquire new sites for its programs; partnering with a “cultural” and “recreational” effort like Play & Learn L.A. opens the doors for the Agency to funds and buildings normally reserved for parks, museums and community theaters. These include but are not limited to funds from Props 12, 40 and K as well as Quimby Funds, Fee Credits for on-site recreational facilities, and Parks & Recreation Community Centers and Cultural Affairs Department properties. It will also be another inspiring example of social service agencies creating partnerships in the community that allow it to share costs, expand its outreach and raise its visibility in the community.
Partnership Engagement
Partnership memorandums of understanding and other legal contracts would be created and executed between the two organizations delineating exact responsibilities, liabilities and authority. In addition, a special committee of representatives of both organizations would be created to maximize joint-opportunities and facilitate the operating of the center. This group would operate in a collaborative manner seeking the best decision possible for the users of the Center. Finally, we would establish a Development Team to coordinate all fundraising efforts. If the Center becomes part of a larger community redevelopment, we would expand the Development Committee to include the developers of the overall project. Click here for a list of various engagement agreements to develop.
Contact Information
For more information, please visit us at www.playleanrla.org or contact the Play & Learn L.A. President Scott McVarish at:
Phone: (310) 776-5438
E-mail: scott@playleanrla.org
Address: 12209 Summertime Lane, Culver City, CA 90230.
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