Written by Chris Cox, Back2Back Cincinnati Site Director
The Back2Back Cincinnati team is unparalleled in its innovation to overcome neighborhood challenges, ensuring each child is seen and known. From summer camps and coaching cohorts to family pool passes, this team constantly advocates for equity in creative ways. But even the best plans can shift. When well-thought-out summer strategies were thrown into chaos, the team still showed up.
Months of preparation go into Back2Back Cincinnati’s summer approach, as this unique season allows staff to build rapport in neighborhoods and deepen impact with local families. Summer can also magnify disparities: while some children enjoy camps, tutoring, and pool trips, many others face isolation without access to those opportunities.
To meet this need, the team partners with neighborhood-based organizations to implement Neighborhood Play – a strategy offering children the same growth opportunities as their peers. Through social-emotional support, educational investment, and food provision, staff strengthen connections with local youth and remind them they are worthy of investment. This past summer, Neighborhood Play launched in three locations through community partnerships, and children poured into our lives from each site.
Each Neighborhood Play initiative is uniquely built to meet the specific needs of children in a neighborhood. In July, the team committed to helping a church in Evanston, a Cincinnati neighborhood, implement a summer reading program. The initial Back2Back Cincinnati staff commitment was 2 days per week, with 2 to 3 staff members. On day one, far more children arrived than expected, and instead of being deterred, we adapted. From that point forward, five to eight staff came every day, five days a week, for the entire month. This shift created consistency for kids, supplied the partnership with much-needed personnel, and established a rhythm of trauma-informed, holistic care. This safe space became a haven where children accessed tutoring, and neighborhood leaders built stronger connections. Now, an after-school reading program is being co-launched in that community.
Alongside neighborhood efforts, staff piloted a family-based initiative. Originally envisioned as “family cohorts,” families were asked what would serve them best. Their answer was simple: help us spend time together! The Back2Back Cincinnati staff rallied donors to invest in pool passes! In the heat of summer, a summer pool pass means access to community fun. Twenty-one families received passes, but many children didn’t know how to swim. We secured a pool and offered swim lessons, wading into the water alongside each child, teaching both safety and courage.
One mom later shared that her son was initially terrified, but finally dipped his head underwater on the last day of lessons. Hearing the celebration from his parents inspired this new swimmer. Since then, he’s asked to go swimming daily; his fear transformed into joy.
Careful plans are essential in serving vulnerable families, and so is the willingness to adapt when the needs shift. God guides every plan, and we trust He will always provide in moments of chaos, as well as in those of strategy. This is the power of our yes meeting His plan – relationships are built, healing unfolds, and communities that once felt overlooked know they will not be forgotten.
