A grass-roots movement to bring back the Center for Creative Play will hold its first meeting at 7 p.m. April 17 at the Wilkins Community Center in Swissvale.

The all-inclusive play center, which originally opened at Station Square in October 1995 and later moved to the vacant Foodland location in Swissvale, closed unexpectedly on March 31. It had served roughly 45,000 visitors a year.

The president of the center's board of trustees gave no explanation for its sudden closing, but people close to the operation said the center had struggled financially for years.

Bring Back CFCP was established by concerned parents the day the center closed.

"The mission of Bring Back CFCP is to jump-start a grass-roots movement that highlights the tragedy of losing a community asset like the Center for Creative Play," the organizers write in their mission statement. "Our goal is to send a wake-up call to the Pittsburgh philanthropic community, our legislators, and the community at large. We cannot stand idly by and allow valuable community resources to fall to the wayside unchallenged."

The community center is located at 7604 Charleston Ave., on the corner of Braddock Avenue, about a block up the hill from the play center's location. You can read more about this effort at www.bringbackcfcp.com