Month-long celebration, themed “We Rise Up for Parks and Recreation,” highlights how parks and recreation has improved lives
This July, the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), the nation’s leading advocate for parks and recreation, invites everyone to celebrate Park and Recreation Month. This year’s month-long celebration is themed “We Rise Up for Parks and Recreation” and honors the stories of how communities across the country are stronger, more vibrant and more resilient because of parks and recreation.
“This month, we are bringing attention to how important it is to rise up and support our field, because every day, park and recreation professionals rise up for their communities in service of equity, climate-readiness, and overall health and well-being” said NRPA President and CEO Kristine Stratton. “Park and recreation professionals have demonstrated time and time again how essential they are to our communities, and we are excited to celebrate their contributions.”
The services that park and recreation professionals provide are vital for our communities — from protecting open space and natural resources to helping fight obesity and providing activities and resources for all people. This has been especially true throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Park and Recreation Month encourages everyone to reflect on the exponential value park and recreation professionals bring to communities.
During Park and Recreation Month, NRPA encourages all people that support parks and recreation to share how parks and recreation has improved their lives on social media using the hashtag #RiseUpJuly.
Since 1985, people in the United States have celebrated Park and Recreation Month in July to promote building strong, vibrant and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation, and to recognize the more than 160,000 full-time park and recreation professionals — along with hundreds of thousands of part-time and seasonal workers and volunteers — that maintain our country’s local, state and community parks.
In addition to visiting a park or recreation area during July, you can get involved in Park and Recreation Month by:
- Thanking your local park and recreation staff during Park and Recreation Professionals Day on July 15.
- Downloading the official Park and Recreation Month poster and hanging it up, taking pictures with it or sharing copies of it with your community.
- Using the official Park and Recreation Month toolkit to highlight your participation
- You can learn more about Park and Recreation Month by visiting: nrpa.org/July.
Park and Recreation Month is proudly sponsored by Active Network and Merrell.
To learn more about NRPA, visit nrpa.org.
###
About the National Recreation and Park Association
The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is the leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to building strong, vibrant and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation. With more than 60,000 members, NRPA advances this mission by investing in and championing the work of park and recreation professionals and advocates — the catalysts for positive change in service of equity, climate-readiness, and overall health and well-being. For more information, visit nrpa.org. For digital access to NRPA’s flagship publication, Parks & Recreation, visit parksandrecreation.org.