Getting ParkPlay ready for years of growth and impact
This April, ParkPlay turns 5! It will be five years – and over 250 ParkPlays – since we started Vange ParkPlay in Basildon. It’s been an incredible journey, and we’re immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together with our amazing volunteers and communities across the country. We’ve started more than 100 different ParkPlay events, had hundreds of volunteers and over 20,000 adults and children registered. We’ve also been able to prove our impact on individual health and community wellbeing, and £30:1 social return on investment.
Our mission to build happier, healthier communities nationwide through the life-changing power of play won’t change; and we believe the fundamentals of ParkPlay – a free, year-round, informal, long-term, community volunteer-led event – are sound. But it hasn’t been plain sailing by any means and we’ve continued to learn and reflect on the successes and failures to guide our plans for the future.
What we’ve learned
The truth is we haven’t yet found the right model, which is critical for the long-term sustainability of the charity and the work of the small core team. Whilst some ParkPlays are amazing, buzzing, vibrant events led by brilliant volunteers, too many aren’t reaching their potential or have stopped entirely over the last couple of years. We’ve been pulled in too many different directions:
- Launching events in areas of higher deprivation where volunteering and participation are most difficult, without adequate local support structures
- Relying too much on income from local authorities who are principally interested in launching new events meeting their objectives
- Operating as a small, lean team without the capacity to provide the hands-on ground support our communities need
Our approach for 2026
This year, we’ll be taking a more conservative, sustainable approach – one that allows us to build better foundations for the next 5 years and scale thoughtfully when funds and conditions allow. In 2026 we will:
- Actively support every ParkPlay to be the best it can be – getting behind and celebrating our incredible volunteers to make their ParkPlays all brilliant, vibrant community events (which many already are)
- Getting the fundamentals right – ensuring every ParkPlay (existing or new) is safe, welcoming, well-supported and where there’s genuine community demand; and only launching new ParkPlays when they’re 100% ready
- Building financial sustainability – developing new income streams and partnerships, and communicating our charitable aims and funding requirements
Specifically we will do the following:
- Get behind lots of existing ParkPlay events and their brilliant volunteers to help them get the fundamentals right and grow the number of people that come to them regularly so they are buzzing, vibrant and impactful
- Improve our support for volunteers by helping more people to get involved, have PlayDirectors at every ParkPlay, make our training and resources better and easier to access, and expand our local support for ParkPlays in key regions of the country
- Improve our marketing and digital experience to support growth in participation both nationally and locally, and reach out to new under-served audiences
- Create new partnerships and sources of income to support all this activity long-term through a lean and effective central team
Looking ahead
This is a year about building strong foundations. We remain ambitious but realistic, and will ensure that every ParkPlay we support today can thrive for years to come. We’re building happier, healthier communities nationwide through the life-changing power of play – and we’re doing it in a way that’s sustainable for the long term because impact doesn’t happen overnight.
Thank you to every volunteer, participant, funder and supporter who’s part of our journey. Here’s to the first 5 years of ParkPlay, and to many more ahead.
The ParkPlay Team
Find your local ParkPlay
Please visit our events page to find your local ParkPlay and come and join us for your ParkPlay session. We play every weekend.
