MARLENE
As a lifelong Edmontonian, Margaret Whelen imagines the impact Free Play could have had on her life.
“It would have been amazing if we had something like this when we were kids.”
Two of Margaret’s four kids are longtime Free Play members, Marlene and Timothy, who heard about the opportunity from the Aboriginal Head Start program at Abbott school.
“We try to get some cultural value from the Head Start program… We’re all Cree on my side of the family, and their father is Dene.”
“We just wanted a more grounded life for them, as me and their father didn’t have that so much.”
20 plus years of work at one of Edmonton’s busiest liquor stores keeps Margeret busy. On top of the responsibility of caring for a big family, her time is a precious resource most weeks. The size of Margeret’s family sometimes also creates financial barriers.
“The problem with having four children is that we weren’t able to afford any sports programs.”
“So when we heard about the Free Play program, it was very exciting.”
Marlene, the Whelen’s eldest daughter, was shy at the first to try out Free Play but opened up and pushed herself to become a support for her brother too.
“Timmy was pretty scared just because he was meeting new people, the confidence level just wasn’t there… But then Marlene opened up and she pushed herself… and she made him feel more comfortable.”
When the pandemic started in 2020, Free Play was a needed distraction in an often confusing time.
“Especially for the kids it was really hard because that was just something that was thrown upon them… It was a great big red stop sign… In those few years it was a lot of slaps of reality.”
Several major program adjustments were made at Free Play to continue to run safe, engaging and meaningful programs for kids while the pandemic took its toll.
Parents understand the importance of play in their kids' lives, with studies that show after school time typically reserved for extracurricular activities is the most important and impactful time in a child's day.
This is why Free Play can be a valuable tool for parents who need an arsenal of programs and activities to add important value to their children’s life.
“[Free Play] is something that has given me a level up to be able to work with.”
Margaret is excited to see her kids grow into new experiences with the support of Free Play as her daughter graduates into junior high and enters new opportunities to coach and lead programs.
“That is one of the main things she’s very excited about going into the junior program.”
As Margaret and her family move into the future, she hopes to see the full possibilities and positive long term impact that play will have on her kids' life.
“Free Play changed our lives for the better.”
