MRPF Corner

Foundation Update, Fall 2022

By Elizabeth Owens, MRPF Communication’s Liaison

With the end of the calendar year approaching, the MRPF Board is celebrating a year of generous giving, unique fundraising events and over $19,000 provided in grants and scholarships to professionals in our fi eld! Thank you for participating in the variety of fundraising activities we presented at the MRPA Annual Conference! From the golf tournament, to the raffl es, to the heads and tails game to the wine and beer pull. MRPF raised over $5,000 to invest back into the Parks and Recreation profession. A huge shout of thanks to: Musco Lighting, WSB, Bolton & Menk, Kompan, Hiway Credit Union, Oertel Architects, Hoisington Koegler Group Inc., St. Croix Recreation and MN/WI Playgrounds, for their generous fi nancial sponsorships for the golf tournament. This year, MRPF has awarded nearly $11,000 in New Initiative Grants. These dollars help agencies spur innovation, serve their communities and provide unique and new experiences for their residents to enjoy. Our giving did not stop there! MRPF also awarded one professional and three student scholarships in excess of $8,000. These dollars help students or professionals advance their education with schooling or other trainings. We also provided MRPA over $10,000 to host a variety of education and networking opportunities. MRPF is proud to watch our fellow professionals expand their knowledge and build our profession! MRPF is grateful for a profession that is focused on giving and serving our communities. Please consider a fi nancial gift to Minnesota Recreation and Parks Foundation. Perhaps this gift is a $25 annual membership, a $10 monthly gift, or a one-time gift that seems right to you. MRPF promise these dollars are invested right back into our association and our profession. All giving, including membership renewals, can be completed at www.mnrpf.org. As we look towards 2023, MRPF is looking forward to another year of learning, growing, and supporting our professional fi eld together!

The Minnesota Recreation & Park Foundation (MRPF) is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in Minnesota by supporting recreation and parks through education, networking opportunities, programming grants, student and professional continuing education scholarships, and providing support to the Minnesota Recreation and Park Association. Learn more at www.mnrpf.org.

MRPF New Initiative Grants

Each session MRPF awards up to $4,000 to members’ organizations that are working to develop new and innovative programs. These grants spur innovation in the park and recreation fi eld at the local, regional, and state level. In upcoming issues, we will highlight past grant recipients. Annual grant deadlines fall at the end of March and early November. For more information contact Lisa Abernathy at 952-924-2539 or labernathy@stlouispark.org, or visit https://mnrpf.org/grants.

Edible Courtyard – City of Crystal

Year Started: 2018 Grant Award: $2,500 In 2018 the City of Crystal created an Edible Courtyard for their community. The Edible Courtyard was started to create a shareable vegetable garden at the Crystal Community Center. The Edible Courtyard works with a nonprofi t, A Backyard Farm, to keep the edible space growing and thriving for the community. The Edible Courtyard was able to pay for services from A Backyard Farm with the support of the Minnesota Recreation and Park Foundation’s New Initiative Grant. City of Crystal’s Recreation Department wanted to provide food access and food education to residents and visitors and the Crystal Community Center. Participants work with urban farmers throughout the growing season (May – October) to create a sustainable edible space that will provide free access to healthy food. Participants learn to plant, grow, maintain, harvest and prepare vegetables and herbs. 2022 was the fi rst year that the Edible Courtyard began to incorporate culturally relevant plants that better represent the community make up in Crystal. These plants include tomatillos, Malabar spinach, and Simeon’s white eggplant (bitter balls). What is grown in the garden is available free of charge to those choosing to harvest. All unused produce is taken to the local food shelf, countless free fruits and vegetables have been distributed to the community to increase food access in a community that has one of the lowest fruit and vegetable intakes in Hennepin County.