Partnering with Parks & Recreation

I had a meeting with our township’s Parks & Recreation department recently and it was so wonderful that it didn’t end up like an episode of the NBC show Parks & Recreation, rather we’re planning for ways to partner with each other while also not stepping on each other’s toes. Our community has a brand new community center which is a HUGE draw for our residents and our Parks & Rec department is not only running the center but also moved their office to the building as well, so we’re all adjusting as programming has changed, spaces have changed and learning how we can partner together.

While our Board of Supervisors is looking for us to partner together, we are both trying to figure out ways to do so, while not undercutting the funds the community center needs to run and at the same time, not charging library patrons for programs. Needless to say, we’ve gotten really creative about how we partner. We offering a fitness class once a month to promote the community center programs, while also promoting healthy living and health literacy from the library perspective. The Parks & Rec staff have given us a certain number of spaces for our patrons to experience these classes for free.

We’re also offering a library card drive next month – which is super simple! Library card applications and a staff member at the community center for a few hours to promote library programs.

We’re also putting together a joint grant application for a Healthy Living series of programs over the course of the year. Four programs, one for each season – Swim-Up Storytime at the Community Center pool with fun music and craft for the summer, Soups & Stews for healthy eating in the fall, an essential oils program in the winter and a container gardening program for the spring. We’re hoping that by off-setting the cost through a grant, we won’t have to worry about charging residents for the program and the Community Center/Parks & Rec department will be compensated for the use of the space and for any instructors we need to hire for the programs.