Funding Available: Community Change Grants Program
By Kyle Simpson | Posted on March 18, 2024
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Community Change Grant Program was announced and opened for applications in late 2023. The program will award roughly $2 billion in project funding for projects that provide meaningful improvements to the environmental, climate, and resilience conditions affecting disadvantaged communities.
NRPA Announces Million Coaches Challenge Grant to Champion Positive Youth Development
By Allison Colman and Teresa Morrissey | Posted on March 15, 2024
Through the Million Coaches Challenge, NRPA is partnering with leading national training providers to ensure park and recreation agencies have access to no-cost, high-quality training programs. These training opportunities focus on two key areas — social and emotional learning (SEL) and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) — to complement and enhance existing training and ensure all people interacting with youth have essential skills to promote relationship building, leadership and teamwork, cultural humility, conflict resolution, unconscious bias, building understanding, and more.
Park and Recreation Stories: Your Story Starts Here
By Cara Myers | Posted on March 13, 2024
NRPA's new video-storytelling project, Park and Recreation Stories, aims to capture the memories and insights of park and recreation professionals, as well as commemorate significant events experienced by NRPA members, partners and advocates. The initiative promotes the voice of the people who have dedicated their lives to the field of parks and recreation for the purpose of creating strong, healthy and vibrant communities across this country.
Creating Space for Belonging in Juneau, Alaska — Episode 152
By Christina High and Cort Jones | Posted on March 12, 2024
On this episode of Open Space Radio, we're chatting with are Amanda Lovejoy, a recreation coordinator at the Zach Gordon Youth Center for City and Borough of Juneau Parks & Recreation, and Lauren Anderson is the Treadwell Arena Manager for Juneau Parks & Recreation.
Benefits of Summer Jobs With Parks and Recreation
By Alexandra Ziegler | Posted on March 8, 2024
Working for local parks and recreation during the summer offers a unique and rewarding experience. Employees get the chance to contribute to the well-being of their community by organizing and participating in various outdoor activities and events. Summer positions in the field can offer significant advantages, including skill development, monetary benefits and certifications.
Recruiting Summer Talent at Parks and Recreation
By Alexandra Ziegler | Posted on March 8, 2024
With summer being the busiest time for parks and recreation, valuable programs can suffer without the addition of summer seasonal staff. From summer camps and sports leagues to outdoor events, parks and recreation is an essential avenue for fostering a vibrant and engaged community. In September 2023, the NRPA Research team sought to capture the experiences park and recreation agencies had in hiring their summer seasonal staff by conducting a survey completed by agency directors.
Facilitating Inclusion in Parks and Recreation: Part 3 — Implementing Support to Facilitate Inclusion
By Jennifer Ward | Posted on March 6, 2024
In part three of this blog series, we will discuss some common supports for facilitating inclusion in parks and recreation.
Federal Earmarks Process — How to Win Funding for Local Park Initiatives
By Kyle Simpson | Posted on March 5, 2024
Your NRPA Public Policy and Advocacy team is here to help you make sense of the new federal fiscal year appropriations process. Whether you submitted a request for funding last year or you’re reading about this opportunity for the first time, here’s all the information you’ll need to successfully submit a project request with your congressional representatives.
Leveling the Playing Field
By Michael Rosenkrantz | Posted on February 21, 2024
The executive director of SoCal Adaptive Sports shares why municipalities and local park and recreation professionals have the power to level the playing field, creating greater societal inclusion.
Memories Are Important for Wellness, Too
By Emma Laux | Posted on February 15, 2024
Emma Laux shares how a member of the Monon Community Center, part of Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation, focuses on the "gold" lining during her cancer battle.
Five Practices for Culturally Responsive Programs
By Liliana Ruiz Fischer, MPH | Posted on February 14, 2024
NRPA has developed a new resource that offers five practices to support park and recreation professionals with centering community and culture that can be applied to any park and recreation program.
Having Fun and Doing the Right Thing in San Antonio — Episode 151
By Cort Jones and Cara Myers | Posted on February 13, 2024
On the latest episode of Open Space Radio, we're exploring an exciting partnership between NRPA, Bobcat Company and the San Antonio River Authority that is advancing resilient park access.
Park Champions Advocate for Vibrant Communities
By Dan McCarthy | Posted on February 12, 2024
The Park Champions Initiative is a rallying call to individuals and communities to stand up for their local parks, from passionate community leaders to environmentally conscious citizens.
Facilitating Inclusion in Parks and Recreation: Part 2 — How to Facilitate Inclusion at an Organizational Level
By Jennifer Ward | Posted on February 9, 2024
In part two of our Inclusion in Parks and Recreation blog series, we explore how to facilitate inclusion at an organizational level by including self-advocates, creating an accessible environment, and implementing organizational and programmatic changes.
Planting a Sustainable Future at Trueheart Ranch Nature Park
By Austin Barrett and Miriam Lamoreaux | Posted on February 8, 2024
On November 2, 2023, a few dozen warm-hearted people gathered on an unseasonably cold morning, just south of San Antonio, Texas, to celebrate the future of Trueheart Ranch Nature Park as part of NRPA's partnership with Bobcat Company.
Strategies for Promoting Gender Equity in Youth Sports
By Nelson Musselman | Posted on February 7, 2024
Join us in celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day®, an annual celebration hosted by the Women’s Sport Foundation to celebrate all the girls and women who play, coach or work in sports.
SMS Connection: Using Text Outreach to Build Relationships
By Christina Marmor | Posted on February 6, 2024
Park and recreation agencies need to maintain relationships with community members to understand and meet their needs. Learn how text outreach can help.
NRPA Offers Strategies for Inclusive Instructor Recruitment in Park and Recreation Programs
By Natalia Ospina | Posted on February 5, 2024
NRPA’s Healthy Aging Team has developed a resource, “Representation Matters: Strategies to Diversify Instructor Recruitment,” with eight strategies agencies can use to diversify instructor recruitment.