Why Today's Public Playgrounds Don't Reflect the Needs of Today's Families, and the Magic of a Magical Bridge
MEETING FOR THE WEEK OF Mar. 31, 2025
This Meeting at a Glance:
Program: Why Today's Public Playgrounds Don't Reflect the Needs of Today's Families, and the Magic of a Magical Bridge
Speaker: Olenka Villarreal
Is this your first time to visit us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! To complete our meeting, please continue reading from here to the bottom of this page. Each Monday, our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 60 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time. Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you. Please also complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
To properly attend this meeting, please:
Read and watch the content below in its entirety.
Complete the attendance survey.
Everyone is encouraged to leave a comment in the Disqus section at the bottom of the page.
Message from our President
Welcome Members, fellow Rotarians, friends, and guests. Thanks for joining our weekly meeting!
WEEKLY FUNNY WITH SHAGS
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin!
A Confession
A man with a nagging secret couldn't keep it any longer. In the confessional, he admitted that for years he had been stealing building supplies from the lumberyard where he worked.
"What did you take?" his priest asked.
"Enough to build my own house and enough for my son's house. And houses for our two daughters and our cottage at the lake."
"This is very serious," the priest said. "I shall have to think of a far-reaching penance. Have you ever done a retreat?"
"No, Father, I haven't," the man replied. "But if you can get the plans, I can get the lumber."
INSPIRATION
Here's an inspiring business story about a big problem that may prove for this community to be a massive opportunity. The company is LuxWall, and they make a different kind of window. See what you think of their pitch in this Bill Gates video!
LEARN SOMETHING NEW
Why the Human Brain Loves Opioids
Pain and pleasure rank among nature’s strongest motivators, but when mixed, the two can become irresistible. Here is the science behind how opioids brew a perfect addiction in the brain.
Are you receiving the Members Only Weekly Bulletin?
Our Club News and Member links are now on the Members Only ClubRunner Site and are emailed weekly as a Club Bulletin. Please make sure your email address is current on ClubRunner.
Members, be sure to read our Weekly Club Bulletin, which is sent separately to your email address from ClubRunner each Monday. In it, you will find updates and information about what our members are up to, club activities, projects, Happy Dollars, news from District 5170, and various ways you can support The Rotary Foundation. We also send your Dues notices using ClubRunner email.
Our Weekly Bulletin, sent every Monday, provides club information. To stay informed, please ensure your email is current on ClubRunner and add mailservice@clubrunner.ca to your address book so it does not go into Spam.
PROGRAM: Why Today's Public Playgrounds Don't Reflect the Needs of Today's Families, and the Magic of a Magical Bridge
SPEAKER: Olenka Villarreal
We bring you a new program every week on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education and how they contribute to service to others.
It's a child's first outdoor classroom, yet it's incredible that today's public playgrounds do not serve the needs of most children and their families. About 25% of us live with a visible or invisible disability, and data continues to show more outdoor time is critical to our mental health. So why aren't playgrounds built to be places of community connections that serve today's families, from the youngest to the oldest?
As the only design that considers the whole family, Magical Bridge is committed to creating more inclusive communities through its truly magical playgrounds and multigenerational programs. Learn how we are different and we invite you to understand why "accessible" is no longer enough, and a Magical Bridge means every"body."
Our speaker, Olenka Villarreal, is founder and CEO of Magical Bridge Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating the world's most inclusive playgrounds for guests of all ages and all abilities, far surpassing what is typically known as "accessible." With a passion for community-building, Olenka leads the foundation's efforts to create a more inclusive world through these innovative spaces coupled with their multigenerational programs. Celebrating 10 years since their first Magical Bridge opened in 2015, the foundation just completed its 10th custom playground this year.
Members and guests, please welcome Olenka Villarreal!
To learn more, go to:
https://www.magicalbridge.org/
To learn more about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, go to:
http://rotary.cool
Our Three Podcast Series
Our main program speakers are available as podcasts in addition to YouTube videos! Each week, they are available on Spotify and Apple podcasts.
Or you can click below for this week’s speaker:
The Weekly Rotarian
Inspiring Solutions
And our original podcast, featuring some of the best of our previous speakers, is still available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Development Success Stories
Our third podcast features success stories about economic development from around the world. It is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or you can click below.
UPCOMING PROGRAM RECORDING SCHEDULE
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
Our online video conference room link for these recordings is always http://zoom.siliconvalleyrotary.com/. You are welcome to join us! Please note the timezone listed for all recordings is US Pacific Time (San Francisco, California, USA).
If you can’t join the live recording, please send your questions for an upcoming speaker to programs@siliconvalleyrotary.com.
THE ATTENDANCE SURVEY
Thanks for reading and watching this week’s meeting. You have two last things to do before you’re done.
We have a very short attendance survey below for you to fill out to record your attendance.
Visiting Rotarians, this is how you can get an email receipt to pass along to your club’s secretary as proof that you’ve attended our meeting if you need it for makeup.
Non-Rotarian Guests, we would love to see who is dropping by our meetings! This part is optional for you. If you think you may want to join our eClub at some point in the future, we would strongly recommend you fill out the attendance form as it will improve your chances of success for your membership application.
For all members and guests — we strongly recommend and ask that you leave a comment in our comments area below. Tell us how you enjoyed the program. Ask this week’s speaker any questions you might have. Or just stop by and say hello and tell us where you’re from!
Important: Once you submit the Attendance Survey below, please make sure you see the confirmation message. If you get an error message instead, please try the 'submit' button again, and if that doesn't work, please refresh the page and fill out the form again. Thanks!
