As part of an ongoing series on the National Recreation Foundation, Parks & Recreation highlights grant recipients for the foundation’s program benefiting at-risk youths. This month features programs from Colorado, Michigan and Illinois.

Colorado UpLift 

Model Replication Training Center Grant: $150,000

Colorado UpLift has been serving the Denver metropolitan area since 1982 and works to build long-term, life-changing relationships with urban youth. The programs UpLift provides teach character values, hone life skills, enhance leadership abilities and develop teamwork skills for their young participants. Youth who are involved for three or more years in the program have achieved a 90 percent rate of high school graduation. The successes of UpLift have been documented, leading to replication models launching in four cities across the U.S. (Orlando, Phoenix, New York and Portland). This is the second year of the grant, and it has helped Colorado UpLift train and support other organizations around the U.S. to implement the UpLift model. Specifically, this grant helped Colorado UpLift transition this training into a formal and independent 501(c)(3) organization called the UpLift Model Replication Training Center (UMRTC). The ultimate goal of the Model Replication is to lift up and support the next generation of urban leaders nationwide.

Cranbrook Schools Horizons-Upward Bound

Exercise, Gardening and Reading Grant: $99,090

This continuing grant is in its second year of funding and has served to support the Exercise, Gardening and Reading program, which helps students develop leadership skills, healthy habits and improved physical fitness. Horizons-Upward Bound (HUB) has been improving the quality of life in the Detroit metropolitan area for more than 40 years by offering a program that encourages youth to view education as a means to economic and social mobility. This particular program provides comprehensive academic enrichment and physical activities with the interdependent components of exercise, gardening and vocabulary building. The HUB primarily serves students from the City of Detroit who are from high-poverty areas and are potential first-generation college students.

Boys & Girls Club of Lake County, Illinois

Grant: $120,000

The Boys & Girls Club of Lake County is committed to creating a cross-cultural and safe environment that promotes self-esteem, teamwork and responsible community commitment for young people ages 6–18. This is the first year of the continuing grant that supported the Community Engagement Initiative for Healthy Lifestyles for At-Risk Youth. The NRF provided funding for a comprehensive program that supported academic improvement through the intentional collaboration and integration of the broader community, with the help of volunteers and parents in the community, emphasizing family unity, wellness and physical fitness. The BGCLC strives to support the academic, social, emotional and physical well-being of children.

The National Recreation Foundation and NRPA, along with NRPA’s predecessor organizations, have had a close working relationship since 1919. In addition to NRPA, NRF supports many other not-for-profit organizations and government agencies throughout the United States. In 2011–2012, grants were made to 35 programs for a total of $1.7 million. The mission is “to be a life-enhancing force on the youth of the nation by investing strategically in recreation with a special focus on programs for those who are economically, physically or mentally disadvantaged.” NRF gives funding priority to organizations working to coordinate efforts among local, state and national agencies that address this mission, as well as to programs focusing on outcomes leading to significant social change. The foundation views recreation and the leisure services as a broad and holistic perspective that assists youth at risk by encouraging healthy lifestyles for all. For more information, click here.