Play is an important part of growth, even as adults. Whether it be card games, board games, video games, or playing outside, play is beneficial to all aspects of health. We believe that nostalgia is important to play and our overall health. Intentional play helps us recover from trauma and heal our mental health in subtle ways. Games of all kinds bring back memories in the form of nostalgia. Our past plays can also inspire our future.

Research has taught us that nostalgia and play are not only intertwined, but they branch out into very important parts of our lives. Playing may not be something we all do frequently as adults with busy lives, but nearly 60 percent of those surveyed would like to make more time to play because of the positive impact it has. When asked how one felt after losing a game, most people felt positive or neutral emotions, showing that gaming is overall good for us. This helps our mental health stay strong and helps us to process trauma we may not even be aware of. No matter what the game or how the game is being played, engaging with others brings back good memories that can make us happy. Nostalgia is a positive indicator of people focusing on forward progress.

Our Honor’s in Action Project was to find out the cost of play and the cost of not being able to participate in play, specifically from the low-income perspective. We went into the project with certain assumptions that the low-income youth in our community as well as all over our country had less access to play due to their socioeconomic status. We researched statistics on the benefit of play for all ages and how the lack of ability to participate in play affected people. We were able to interview the director of our local parks and recreation department to find out where there was a need in our community. We also were able to connect with a PTK alumni that works in the Virtual Reality field to research where the future of play is going. Our chapter was able to help our community by cleaning up a local park in a low-income area and making connections that will allow us to volunteer at the local senior centers and free youth sports programs. Due to the connections, we made during this project, we were also able to connect Augusta Parks and Rec with the PTK alumni and they are collaborating on an app to inform the community of events and facilities to boost community involvement. The community impact of our project will have lasting benefits and have made play a little more accessible to people of all ages.