Megan Slaughenhoup, right, tells a student how the game of kickball is organized at the last day of Pick Me Up, a meetup in East Brady Park that fosters outside play. The park meet-ups are organized by Slaughenhoup, a Karns City High School teacher. Molly Miller/Butler Eagle

EAST BRADY — One teacher’s sleepless night became days of fun in the sun for many children from kindergarten to high school.

Megan Slaughenhoup, sophomore English teacher at Karns City High School, held her last of eight pick-up game events at East Brady Playground Wednesday night.

Since the first event in May, attendance has doubled and community involvement has skyrocketed.

The weekly play days became known as “Pick Me Up” and encouraged students to connect and grow through play.

“’Pick Me Up.’ That’s a play on words,” said Terry McElroy, volunteer and Sugarcreek Elementary School teacher. “This is to lift each other up through a pick-up game.”

Elizabeth Venesky, 9, plays kickball with children of all ages at East Brady Park for the last day of Pick Me Up. The park meet-ups were organized by a Karns City teacher who wanted to get children active in the summer months. Molly Miller/Butler Eagle

Slaughenhoup said ‘Pick Me Up’ began with a night of tossing and turning following the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May.

“Following the Texas shooting, I laid awake all night in bed,” she said. “People like to talk about weapons, but I think we need to look at people. Something is going on with people we have to figure out. The something missing is connectedness.”

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