Record-Journal (Meriden, CT)

When Wallingford Early Childhood Alliance Resources and Education (WE CARE) launched a bilingual playgroup in 2007 for local parents and children, Program Coordinator Roberta Clouet had no idea it would evolve to become its own small community.

Like many mothers, Lilia Garcia heard about the weekly group through word-of-mouth and initially joined as a way to encourage her then shy 3-year-old daughter, Sasha, to socialize with other children. Her plan worked.

“She started to talk more, she’s not too shy anymore,” said Garcia of Sasha, now a kindergartner at Thomas Hooker School in Meriden.

Though the family purchased a house in Meriden last year, Garcia still ventures into Wallingford for a dose of play, craft and story time with more than a dozen mothers and children she has gotten to know. “Sometimes we don’t end up talking to any other families all week until we come here,” she said.

Three years ago, less than 10 children occupied the first playgroup in a donated space at Youth & Social Services, 6 Fairfield Drive. The group has since expanded to Ulbrich Boys & Girls Club, where it attracts the largest group of downtown families, many who commute on foot for twohour sessions. The group alternates each week between the two locations to cover both sides of town. In addition to weekly meetings, members attend yearly field trips to area museums and amusement parks together.

Funded by a grant through the William Casper Graustein Memorial Fund’s Discovery Initiative to improve the lives of young people through community-specific programs, WE CARE hosts several English playgroups each week, but what group leader Maria Ruiz most enjoys about the bilingual section, beyond the educational components, is watching it transform residents into active members of the community.

“Being part of this group made them realize there are so many things they can take advantage of. Before it was like, ‘we’re here, in Wallingford, but we don’t know what to do,’ ” said Ruiz, who leads a different craft each week, hosts songs, sends parents home with a lesson and reads bilingual books to help promote school readiness.

Through the group, members are able to hear about local events at places such as the library as well as work with SCOW during its leadership transition. We were able to show (SCOW) a whole community they hadn’t tapped into,” Clouet said,  “We have so much in Wallingford that just needs to be connected better.” The group has expanded since it was launched in 2007.

Dave Zajac / Record-Journal

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