It all starts with citizens

Parks & Recreation, July, 1998 by Ted Flickinger

Donations

Citizens who believe in the parks and recreation cause can be very generous with their money and land. Financial contributions take many forms including living memorials, corporate giving, and fund-raising events such as golf outings and payroll deductions. In-kind donations range from land and equipment to professional services such as marketing, planning, referendum campaign management, and legal counsel.

It was a 135-acre donation in 1894 by Lydia Moss Bradley that started the Pleasure Driveway and Park District of Peoria, Illinois' oldest existing park district system. More recently, the district received a $5 million donation from a local family, the Bielfeldt Foundation, to develop a wellness center.

"[The Bielfeldts] are living here, they want the quality of life to be as good as possible," observes Bonnie Noble, executive director of the Peoria Park District.

"They've given land for a park, matching contributions to develop the park, trees to plant on Grand View Drive, and funding for the Rodin exhibit at Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences. Their generosity encourages others."

The bottom-line value of citizen involvement is the public's central role in the very existence of public parks and recreation. History proves we owe a debt to citizens. Enduring legacies such as Central Park in New York, Boston's Emerald Necklace, and Chicago's Grant Park exist early citizens were mobilized their communities.

Willoughby Rodman, the "Mother of Angeles Playgrounds," and Otto Mallery, the "Father of Recreation in Philadelphia," are among the field's pioneers from the early 1900s. While their names are perhaps now forgotten, their influence indeed lives on.

Mallery, an economist and active member of the Playground Association of America, was a great believer in the role of the citizen in the recreation movement. He once said, "The ultimate strength of the National Recreation Association lies m me devotion and civic spirit of thousands of laymen and women on boards, committees, and foundations who steadily hold the line and keep advancing it."

Today, on the local and national levels, we must return to our roots, opening the doors and involving citizens as volunteers, benefactors, and advocates for parks and recreation. Citizens are clout. They are the ultimate creators and keepers of America's public parks.

We have the opportunity to write the future of parks and recreation. With citizens as our central characters, we'll create success stories.

Dr. Ted Flickinger is the executive director of the Illinois Association of Park Districts and president-elect of NRPA.

References

Butler, G.D. (1965). Pioneers In Public Recreation. Minneapolis, MN: Burgess Publishing Company.

Cramer, M. (1991). The Central Park Conservancy. Trends, 28 (2), 35-38.

Gerson, M.J. (1997). Do Do-gooders Do Much Good? U.S. News and World Report, 122(16), 27-37.

Hall, R.R. (1995). Citizens Advisory Committees: Do You Want Them (To Work)? Illinois Parks & Recreation Magazine, 26 (6), 25-26.