United States Tennis Association (USTA) AND
National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA)
JULY 6, 2021 991
TABLE OF CONTENTS
About Us........................................................................................................... 3 Equity................................................................................................................. 5 Equity Action Plan.................................................................................... 5 Park Access................................................................................................. 5 Equity in Parks and Recreation: A Historical Perspective.............6 Youth Sports.................................................................................................... 7 2020 NRPA Youth Sports Survey........................................................ 8 Youth Sport Coalitions............................................................................9 NRPA’s Youth Mentoring Framework.................................................9 Trans Inclusion Guidance + Paving the Way for Trans Inclusion...........................................................................9 Mobilizing NRPA’s Advocacy Efforts to Support the Parks, Jobs, and Equity Act.......................................................... 10 NRPA’s 2020 Annual Report......................................................................12
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A child enjoys water play with other children in a park.
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ABOUT US The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is the leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to building strong, healthy and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation. NRPA advances this vision by investing in and championing the work of park and recreation professionals to be a catalyst for positive change in service of equity, climate-readiness and overall health and well-being. NRPA champions and supports the field of parks and recreation through: ● Professional development, ● Advocacy, ● Grants and programs, ● Research, ● Publications ...and more. NRPA’s network of more than 60,000 park and recreation professionals and advocates represents public spaces in urban communities, rural settings and everywhere in between. Every day, in communities across the country, the people of parks and recreation are providing essential services and confronting the most pressing issues of our time to advance mental and physical health, create climate-ready parks, support equity and inclusion, and so much more. We know we cannot solve these challenges alone. By partnering with like-minded organizations — including nonprofits, government agencies, academics and corporate leaders — we bring strength to our programs and mission.
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Parks and recreation are vital to our health and well-being, and create stronger communities that can protect and better recover from environmental, social and economic challenges.
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EQUITY Equity is at the center of everything NRPA does. Equity Action Plan Our Equity Action Plan provides a framework for how NRPA is strengthening our organizational culture and practices centered around equity and our core values of trust, continuous learning, diversity and inclusion.
Park Access Parks and recreation are vital to our health and well-being, and create stronger communities that can protect and better recover from environmental, social and economic challenges. Every day, local park and recreation professionals and champions are working on innovative, long-term solutions to ensure that our communities have fair and just access to great parks, green spaces, recreation facilities and programs. They are helping to close critical gaps in the: ● Quantity of parks ● Proximity of parks ● Connection to parks This happens all while ensuring that these places are safe, inclusive, culturally relevant and welcoming for everyone. NRPA unites local leaders, advocating for policy change and advancing local solutions through research, tools and catalyzing grants. We champion system-level changes in policy, planning and funding to support place-based projects driven by local communities.
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Equity in Parks and Recreation: A Historical Perspective NRPA created the “Equity in Parks and Recreation” story map to explore: ● United States history ● The evolution of parks and recreation ● Urban planning ● A timeline of inequities in park access — from the past to present This story map is the first part of a two-part resource. Part two, to be published in 2022, will outline strategies needed to address inequities in park access.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROBERT BIRGEL
A participant of the Homewood-Flossmoor (Illinois) Park District’s 2019 Park Pride Day shows off plants before placing them into a flower bed.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF KARA REMINGTON
YOUTH SPORTS
Tennis players pose for a picture at Kids’ Night at Cooper Tennis Complex with the Springfield Lasers World TeamTennis Team in Springfield, Missouri.
“As we continue to see grave health, educational and economic disparities growing among youth, we urge our colleagues in park and recreation agencies, public health and local government officials, schools, community-based organizations and other youth sports stakeholders to significantly increase efforts to center equity in COVID-19 response and recovery.” – Kristine Stratton, President and CEO of NRPA
NRPA published this statement in April 2021, encouraging park and recreation professionals, public health and elected officials, schools and other youth sports providers to level the playing field and focus on equity as they reopen their facilities and programs.
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2020 NRPA Youth Sports Survey This report shares insights from the field of parks and recreation about the barriers and challenges in the current youth sports landscape. The key findings put equity at the heart of youth sports:
5 in 6 park and recreation agencies work with partners to deliver youth sports activities.
86% of park and recreation professionals agree that they and
92% of park and recreation agencies charge registration fees for
2 in 3 agencies offer reduced or discounted fees for
90% of park and recreation professionals report that the
their peers can contribute to a fair and just future for youth sports by identifying inequities in access to organized sports offerings.
lower income residents.
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all of their youth sports offerings.
pandemic negatively impacted their agencies’ youth sports programming during the summer and fall of 2020.
Youth Sport Coalitions ● In 2019, NRPA was a Project Play Champion and continues to be highly engaged in their work to advance play equity. ● In 2021, NRPA became a National Youth Sports Strategy Champion, continuing our commitment to supporting the national strategy.
NRPA’s Youth Mentoring Framework The Youth Mentoring Framework helps local park and recreation agencies craft their own unique, individualized mentoring programs. It helps agencies leverage local park and recreation assets that build protective factors around at-risk youth, while also forming strong social connections and positive relationships to address trauma, adversity and other challenges that youth experience.
YOUTH MENTORING
FRAMEWORK
Trans Inclusion Guidance + Paving the Way for Trans Inclusion As bills aimed at preventing transgender (or trans) youth, particularly transgender girls, from participating in sports continue to appear in state legislatures, we know park and recreation professionals are hungry for resources to build more inclusive youth sports environments that ensure all youth can fairly and fully participate. In response, NRPA has worked alongside national leaders in youth sports to create a suite of resources that support park and recreation professionals in promoting inclusion of trans individuals.
Trans Inclusion
Pathway
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Mobilizing NRPA’s Advocacy Efforts to Support the Parks, Jobs, and Equity Act The Parks, Jobs, and Equity Act is innovative bipartisan legislation that would dramatically improve equitable access to quality parks and green spaces for all. Presently, one in three Americans, including 28 million kids, lack access to nature near their homes, and the problem is heavily concentrated in communities of color. To address this challenge, this legislation would create a onetime $500 million federal grant program to help state and local governments support job creation, economic revitalization and park development for urban communities. The program is designed to build and upgrade new parks and green spaces to increase access to the outdoors in underserved communities. Specifically, the Parks, Jobs, and Equity Act would:
Invest $500 million in urban parks,
Create more than 8,000 new jobs
including 50 percent dedicated funding for low-income communities and 2 percent for Tribal communities.
while saving 100,000 at-risk seasonal jobs.
Generate $1.37 billion
Fund more than 1,000
in economic activity at the local level.
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new or upgraded local parks throughout the country.
NRPA strongly believes that urban parks contribute to equitable economic development, providing quality jobs and workforce development opportunities in local communities.
The Parks, Jobs, and Equity Act will provide a much-needed investment in urban parks across the country and will be a welcome relief as park and recreation professionals, and the agencies they represent, continue to recover from the severe impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. NRPA strongly believes that urban parks contribute to equitable economic development, providing quality jobs and workforce development opportunities in local communities. In addition, these parks can support vital climate-resiliency practices that benefit urban areas on a holistic level. This legislation was first introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2021 by Representatives Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), Michael Turner (R-OH) and Joe Neguse (DCO). The legislation also was introduced in the U.S. Senate in June 2021 by U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Alex Padilla (D-CA). NRPA is part of a wide-ranging coalition that has pushed for such a historic investment in urban parks. As part of this effort, NRPA has launched a targeted advocacy campaign, calling on our members to urge their representatives to co-sponsor this legislation and call for its passage. This legislation could potentially be incorporated into the infrastructure package currently being assembled by the U.S. Congress.
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NRPA’s 2020 Annual Report The past year could be divided into two parts — before the pandemic and living through the pandemic. During the peak of pandemic-related shutdowns in spring 2020, 90 percent of park and recreation agencies had parks or trails open to the public, according to NRPA’s Park Snapshot surveys. ● These cherished outdoor spaces became one of the few places where people could go to walk, exercise or experience green space. ● Where facilities or programs did have to close, many park and recreation professionals were reassigned to emergency pandemic response duties, such as distributing food, providing childcare services for essential workers, establishing overflow testing sites and spearheading other activities to support their communities in crisis. As a result, parks and recreation has become an even more fundamental part of our daily lives and essential to how communities come together and heal. To learn more about our work this past year, read our 2020 Annual Report, WE ARE Parks and Recreation.
BEREA COLLEGE
NRPA 2020 ANNUAL REPORT
STRONG CONFIDENT SELFLESS PASSIONATE DRIVEN ESSENTIAL In Berea, Kentucky, volunteers from community organizations such as Berea Kids Eat, Berea Community School and the local park and recreation department work together to distribute food to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ON THE COVER:
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.
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NRPA member Aaron Watson, Executive Director of the Mercer County Park Commission (New Jersey) holds an owl as part of their engagement programming.
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