The Power of Community

The Purple Playas Community

There is something incredibly powerful about finding people who simply get it. The kind of people who understand your world without needing long explanations. The people who become your community.

I recently experienced that kind of connection with Rochelle Lentini, of the Purple Playas Foundation, who joined us as a guest on our podcast, Strength Happens. Within just a few minutes of hearing Rochelle share her story about raising her son, Parker, I felt seen. I felt heard. And I hadn’t even spoken a word yet.

There was an immediate understanding between us — the kind that only comes from walking a similar road.

Parker and Rochelle outside of All Children's Hospital

Rochelle is a mom who has lived through the realities that so many parents of medically complex children know all too well. She understands infusion days, emergency hospital admissions, sleepless nights, and treatment changes that ripple through every part of family life. She knows what it feels like to hear devastating news from doctors while somehow still finding the strength to show up for your child the next morning. She understands the balancing act of fear, hope, exhaustion, advocacy, and unconditional love.

And yet, what struck me most about Rochelle was not just what she has endured in her family, but it was what she has chosen to do with those experiences.

She has taken the pain, the uncertainty, and the heartbreak that came with her son’s medical journey and transformed it into something meaningful for other families. Through the creation of the Purple Playas Foundation, Rochelle and her family are creating a community rooted in compassion, hope, and support for children living with chronic illness and the families who love them.

The Purple Playas Foundation

What makes this story even more beautiful is seeing how Rochelle’s outlook on life has clearly shaped Parker himself. As noted on the foundation’s website, “Parker is the reason that the Purple Playas Foundation was born. He believes in the hope and love that others share. He is always saying, ‘You’re never fully dressed without a smile.’” That simple quote says so much.

Despite facing challenges most children should never have to endure, Parker has become an advocate for other children with chronic illness. He believes in kindness, connection, and giving back. His spirit is woven throughout the foundation’s mission and reminds all of us that even in the hardest circumstances, joy and purpose can still grow.

The mission of their foundation reflects that heart so beautifully:

1. Providing social and emotional resources to children coping with the trauma associated with medical diagnoses

2. Offering “SMILE Power” through financial and social support for families

3. Supporting fellowships and scholarships in the field of pediatric rheumatology

Listening to Rochelle reminded me how important community truly is. When you are raising a child with significant medical needs, life can feel incredibly isolating. Many people around you care deeply, but they may never fully understand the emotional weight families carry every day. Then, every once in a while, you meet someone who understands without explanation. Someone who can sit in the hard moments with you because they’ve lived them too.

Those connections matter. Community matters.

It reminds us that we are not alone in the fear, the grief, the advocacy, or even the victories. It reminds us that strength does not always look like having it all together. Sometimes strength is simply reaching back to help another family find their footing.

That is exactly what Rochelle, Parker, and the Purple Playas Foundation are doing every single day.

And that is the true power of community.

For more information on the our talk with Rochelle listen to the latests episode of Strength Happens.

Links:

• Purple Playas Foundation

• Arthritis Foundation

• Child Life Specialist Resources

Connect with Rochelle:

LinkedIn | Twitter