The local school district and the parks and recreation department in Yuba City faced challenges that seemed unrelated. The school needed funds to install a playground at an elementary school and maintain the grounds. The recreation department provided a summer camp to local children at local parks, but weekly changes to the location of the camp created confusion among staff and families. A creative solution was found that helped both groups and paved the way for a long-standing and mutually beneficial partnership.

The parks department agreed to fund both the improvements and ongoing maintenance at the school playground site. In return, the school district provides a site for the summer camp, ensuring consistency for families and staff. As a result, enrollment in the summer camps has risen dramatically, from 724 participants in 2008 to over 1,200 youth in 2011. 

The camps are active, providing participants with access to the local pools, water parks, and other recreation activities. They also provide free breakfast and lunch through the federal migrant-education program. 

A partnership that was at first limited to a joint-use agreement between the schools and the parks has since expanded to include a larger group of stakeholders. The local hospital is now on board, providing wellness prescriptions enabling obese children to participate in a 6 week program at the public pool. One member of the collaborative has worked to remove colored milk from the school lunch menu. The larger group, including the hospital and local businesses, is also looking at ways to improve access to fresh food and outdoor activities for a high-risk population in one low-income neighborhood and to provide health education to parents.

Creative solutions to local issues that impact health now have a platform from which they can be launched. With key leaders as part of a formal coalition, any individual has the opportunity to advocate for policy and environmental changes that can impact long term health. The diversity of the coalition –public health department, parks and recreation, local hospital, local businesses and police chief – assures that there is an audience for any change a member is willing to take on.