ALBANY PARK, CHICAGO — 33rd Ward Working Families was honored to support the Patrick Henry Elementary School Back to School Bash and Car Show on Saturday, Aug. 16, which included the ribbon cutting for a new, attractive, and engaging playground. A triumph of Ald. Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez’s Participatory Budgeting process and community involvement from residents, the new playground will offer a safe and enjoyable place for neighborhood children to gather. The playground's grand opening was celebrated with a backpack giveaway, live music, free ice cream and food, games, a bouncy house, and a car show.

Instrumental to the new playground was local resident and Patrick Henry Elementary parent Maya Camacho Martinez, who stewarded the project from conception to unveiling, along with her daughter, Natalie, a rising 6th grader at the school. Martinez shared that she had long felt that the old playground at Patrick Henry had been uninviting, with broken and outdated equipment, which felt at odds with the warmth, pride, and dedication she’d felt from the staff and community at Patrick Henry. As the president of the Parent Advisory Council and a regular volunteer at Patrick Henry Elementary School’s events, Martinez understood intimately how much change a welcoming play environment could bring to the students’ and community’s day-to-day lives.

Camacho said that her initial meeting with Ald. Rodríguez Sánchez inspired her to bring her concerns to the participatory budgeting process, and she attended every meeting with her daughter. They collected signatures, knocked doors, and talked to classmates and neighbors to make the dream of a safe, exciting playground a reality. 

“I used to think, who am I to make change? I’m just one person. But I wanted to show my daughter that when we work hard together, we can make a difference,” Martinez said.

Martinez, whose family has lived in the 33rd Ward for over two decades, looked to her mother, Maria Camacho, for guidance in how to make a difference in the community.  “My mother told me, ‘You have to do this for your community, for your daughter, and for yourself, so you can see how much power you have. You don’t know how far you can go until you push yourself,’” Martinez says. Martinez now looks with pride at what she and her family have helped accomplish.  “Neighborhood kids now won’t have to walk all the way to Independence Park to find a good place to play,” she said. “I’m still in shock when I see the playground. I can’t stop smiling when I get there.” 

Natalie also spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony and thanked all her classmates, the Patrick Henry Elementary community, and Ald. Rodríguez Sánchez in her speech. She also got to use the giant scissors.

At the playground kickoff, Ald. Rodríguez Sánchez helped students and community members select their free new backpacks as she joined in the day’s festivities. In her address to the community before the ribbon cutting, she noted that only 20% of the city’s alders have participatory budgeting processes allowing the public to help address community issues. With her transparency and embrace of community self-representation, Ald. Rodríguez Sánchez has helped provide avenues for making real changes in our ward.

Patrick Henry principal Mary Ann Reynolds said the new playground will help support the school’s “H.A.W.K.” values: Hope, Agency, Wonder, and Knowledge, by building community and providing opportunities for children to learn through play. She also noted that the new playground was only the first stage of the redesign of the school’s yard, and that the school was seeking additional funding to create blacktop games and new green spaces throughout the school grounds.

Illinois State Senator Graciela Guzmán also spoke with residents, provided back-to-school backpacks, and joined in the festivities. Sen. Guzmán said that she values opportunities to celebrate with the communities of the 20th district.

To join the participatory budgeting process and bring their concerns to light, residents of the 33rd ward can get started on Ald. Rodríguez Sánchez’s website.

As we enter election season, consider joining 33WF to canvass for our candidates who fight for programs like these. We'll be collecting petition signatures every Saturday, at 11am, starting August 30th from our office at 3248 W Montrose!