2016 Annual Report
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Teaming With Our Community 2016 Get Active. Live Healthy. Annual Report Lancaster Rec: Teaming With Our Community When used as a verb, teaming means to come together to achieve a common goal. At the Lancaster Recreation Commission (Lancaster Rec), our common goal is to ensure the residents of the City of Lancaster and Lancaster Township have access to quality recreation opportunities that enrich their lives. We encourage children to be active outdoors at supervised playgrounds and wading pools. Our summer camps offer unique experiences for children to learn more about the world around them. Year-round, we host a variety of youth sports activities, quality child care programs, and special events to keep children healthy, active, engaged and growing. We offer the largest coed softball league in the state of Pennsylvania, so adults get the chance to play, too. We provide fitness classes and have developed a series of free workouts utilizing our local parks to help adults integrate fitness into their daily lives. We celebrate our seniors and provide programs to enhance their social, emotional and physical wellbeing. Our three senior centers establish a community, a place for friendship and continued learning for residents over the age of 60. For our seniors it’s more than playing shuffleboard or cards, it’s a place to belong. At all ages, Lancaster Rec provides safe places for people to play and to come together, bridge the gaps between them and form lasting bonds that strengthen our community. Vulnerable populations are protected, kids with limited opportunities have a chance and our community thrives and succeeds. Susan E. Landes James Reichenbach Executive Director Chair Lancaster Recreation Commission Board Officers James Reichenbach, Chair - City Councilman Alimayu Thrash, Vice Chair - City Resident Matt Przywara, Secretary/Treasurer - School District Chief Financial & Operations Officer OUR MISSION is to provide quality and affordable recreation and learning Board Members Rachel Ballentine - City Resident opportunities to Lancaster residents. John Carpenter, Jr. - City Resident Mike Hamlin - Twp Superintendent of Public Works Charlotte Katzenmoyer - City Director of Public Works Harvey Miller - School Board Member Linda Owens - School Board Member Pete Soto - City Councilman A Public Community Recreation Agency formed through a Partnership Agreement of Get Active. Live Healthy. the City of Lancaster / School District of Lancaster / Lancaster Township 2 The Future Red Tornado Initiative: Everyone Gets to Play In April 2015, Lancaster Rec partnered with the School District of Lancaster to launch the Future Red Tornado Initiative. We began this initiative with a single guiding principle in mind – no child should ever be denied the right to participate in sports due to lack of financial resources. Every child should get to experience the joy of scoring the game-winning point, playing on a team, wearing a jersey with pride, and having a proud parent in the stands to cheer them on. Youth athletics are expensive. The cost of program fees, in addition to equipment, apparel and protective gear, can add up quickly. Lack of transportation can also hinder involvement in youth sports. Too many children are left on the sidelines because of financial barriers and we are determined to change that. Our goal is to double the number of children involved in youth sports over the next five years. The Future Red Tornado Initiative has evolved into powerful partnerships with community organizations like the Lancaster Family YMCA, Lancaster Police Athletic League, SALSA Baseball, Beat the Streets Wrestling, USA Field Hockey, Millersville University Athletics, Tennis Central and many others. Working with these organizations and increasing our program offerings, we’ve begun to see a large increase in the numbers of children participating in youth sports programs. For example, the number of our Junior Tornado Track Club members grew from 35 in 2015 to 56 youth. In 2016, Lancaster Rec provided nearly $45,000 in scholarship funds to children for Future Red Tornado Initiative programs. We expect this number to increase as our programs and partnerships change the trajectory of youth sports in Lancaster. “My son has “She loves to discovered a dance and has passion and a so much pride 2016 Youth Sports purpose. He and confidence comes home and when she learns Scholarships wants to practice something new.” # of Children: 1,144 so he can get better.” 55% Boys 45% Girls “This program has 60% Live with Single Parent “Being a single helped us bond as a parent, I wouldn’t family. It’s improved 70% First-Time Participating in be able to afford the relationship Youth Sports to enroll my between me and my children in youth child and has also 75% of Youth Sports Participants sports without brought her father Receive Scholarships the scholarships. into her life more.” Thank you!” 3 Stepping Up to the Plate – Together Lancaster Rec, Saint Joseph Catholic Club and SALSA baseball organizations are joining forces to get more children outside and active. Coming together, we have created Lancaster Baseball. Our mission is to develop and enhance the skills, mental discipline, character and self-confidence of youth through the sport of baseball. Play starts at ages 5 and 6 with coed tee ball, and progresses to coed rookie ball for ages 7 and 8, and Jr. Red Tornado teams for ages 9 and up. Teams practice and play at Davey Arnold, Lancaster Community Park, St. Joe Catholic Club, and many School District of Lancaster ball fields. The Millersville University baseball coaching staff trains all volunteer coaches to ensure boys and girls learn the proper skills, stay safe on the field, and have fun. The McCaskey High School coaching staff also conducts clinics and skill assessments so that children are placed on teams where they will have the best opportunity for success. Together, we are seeing unprecedented growth in the numbers of children playing baseball. Lancaster Rec and Lancaster Family YMCA Join Forces to Teach Kids to Swim Lancaster Rec and the Lancaster Family YMCA provided swimming lessons to all second graders this school year at Wharton Elementary School. With drowning still one of the most common causes of accidental death in children, being able to swim is an essential life-saving skill. Swimming is the only sport which can save a child’s life. Swimming is lots of fun for people of all ages and children especially love getting in the water and enjoying themselves. But it is not just fun; swimming also provides loads of health benefits which can help to keep children healthy and happy. Through the Future Red Tornado Initiative, we offered the swimming lessons free of charge at the Lancaster City Center YMCA. Several days a week, the children walked from Wharton Elementary School to the Y for lessons as part of their school day. The pilot program is anticipated to roll out to additional School District of Lancaster elementary schools in 2017. Lancaster Rec also offered free SPLASH water safety and swimming skills programs in partnership with the Y to School District second and third graders. The program’s goal is to ensure that children are safe and confident around the water. 4 SPECIAL EVENTS Trick or Trot 5K and Monster Run – Unique Setting Offers One-of-a-Kind Community Event Lancaster Rec joined forces with the Woodward Hill Cemetery to plan a Halloween-themed event to encourage children and families to get active, live healthy, have fun and go run! More than 200 children and adults donned costumes and braved a chilly late October Saturday morning to enjoy a scenic race through Lancaster County Central Park and cross the finish line in Woodward Hill Cemetery. Prior to the 5K, the Monster Run for Kids and costume contests for adults and children took place inside the cemetery. The 5K race began with encouragement from WGAL-News 8 personality Jere Gish, a color guard presentation by Boy Scout Troop 99, and the national anthem sung by Boy Scout Luke Welch. Overall, participants were very pleased with the race, stating that the unique course through the cemetery is unlike anything they’ve ever experienced. With the help of almost 60 volunteers and more than 25 supportive business sponsors, this family-friendly event was a great success. The event raised more than $15,000 to benefit Woodward Hill Cemetery’s maintenance and restoration efforts and our Youth Sports Scholarship Fund. Beating the Streets with Wrestling In the fall, a new organization – Beat the Streets Lancaster – was founded to give youth the opportunity to learn and grow through the sport of wrestling. This free program is offered two nights a week at two locations, the Lancaster Recreation Center and Phoenix Academy. Wrestling is a truly inclusive sport. Size factors are eliminated as each child is competing only against someone of the same weight. Every practice includes a variety of games, tumbling and fitness-oriented activities to focus on becoming an athlete before learning the skills to become a wrestler. Through participation and commitment, boys and girls earn wrestling shirts and shoes. The goal of Beat the Streets is for youth to become well-rounded members of the community with a dedication to purpose, respect for their peers and the toughness to overcome the challenges that life will present them. By year’s end, close to 100 children were enrolled in the program, getting healthy and active and gaining self-reliance and confidence through wrestling. 5 Building a Playground in One Day In late May in the cafeteria at Burrowes Elementary, a group of children and parents helped to design a first-ever playground for Holly Pointe Park, a City-owned grassy park area located along the Conestoga River. The Holly Pointe Park playground was constructed in early October with the help of nearly 200 volunteers.