Oil City’s annual summer playground program, temporarily put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, will open Wednesday, June 17, at four public playgrounds within the city.
“These kids are crying for socialization after being out of their classrooms for so long and stuck at home,” said Evan Basham, a teacher at the Oil City Middle School and director of the multi-week playground program. “It’s really important to have this.”
Permission was needed from city council to launch the summer program because of health-related directives aimed at public gathering places. Council approved the use of the playgrounds for the summer activities at a meeting May 28.
Open to all
In deciding the new schedule, Basham set the dates from June 17 through July 24. The hours will be 9 a.m. to noon Mondays through Fridays and 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays.
The participating playgrounds will be Hasson Park, Harriott Avenue, Innis Street and Rouseville. The program is open to all youths regardless of their residency.
“We had to reduce the number of playgrounds because we needed more staff at each site to ensure safety,” said Basham. “Again, it is free to youngsters ages five to 12 years and they just register when they go to the playground.”
The staff will consist of 12 high school seniors or college students, and each playground will have three staffers on site. All employees have clearances and are trained in CPR.
Each playground will offer organized games, free play, crafts, kickball, softball, board games and more.
The summer program is funded by the Elizabeth S. Black Charitable Trust. Although originally launched in the 1950s and sponsored then by the City of Oil City, the program has been conducted by the Oil City YWCA for the past 42 years.
New precautions
While the sponsorships as well as playground activities remain the same, there will be changes on site because of health precautions.
“This year, we spent a bunch of money to protect the kids, and the staff, health-wise,” said Basham. “We bought 45 bottles of hand sanitizer, more than 5,000 wipes, infra-red thermometers for scanning and more. We’re ready.”
“After each activity, the equipment like bats and balls will be sanitized. And each child will be told to use sanitizer,” said Basham. “As for the playground equipment, kids will play at their own risk but we will have lots of hand sanitizer to give out.”
No food or beverages will be provided at the playgrounds this year as a precautionary measure to guard against virus contagion.
While youngsters will not be required to wear face masks, staff members will don them when in close contact with youngsters in activities such as crafts.
“This will all work and we are taking all the measures we can for safety,” said Basham. “I think our kids really need this.”
Kids ‘need to play’
Jennifer Friedhaber, executive director of the Oil City YWCA that coordinates the summer program, said her organization is encouraging families to to get their children involved in the playground activities.
“We’re so delighted about this,” said Friedhaber. “These young people have lost so much during all this – they need to get out and play and be with friends.”
