PENNSYLVANIA RECREATION & PARK SOCIETY INVITES APPLICANTS FOR GRANTS TO HELP COMMUNITIES IMPROVE PARKS, REC & TRAILS
Through good for PA, Pennsylvania Park & Recreation Society encourages Pennsylvanians to get out and enjoy all of the good in their local parks.
Kara Scott, president of Bowmanstown Area Residents Connected, a community group dedicated to improving Bowmanstown by increasing community participation and communication.
Landscape Architect Jayson M. Wood, RLA*, AICP, CPRP, LEED AP, of Woodland Design, was matched with BARC to develop the concept design for two parcels of land that had been donated to the community.
Each Recipient of the $2,500 Grant will Be Matched with an Expert to Develop the Project
“What distinguishes these grants is the support they offer communities,” says PRPS CEO Tim Herd. “We match each grantee with a team of professionals who have extensive training, knowledge and experience in the issues related to their proposed project.”
This professional connection was the spark Bowmantown, a rural borough of 937 in Carbon County, PA, needed to begin creating an accessible walking trail connecting residents to critical services. Neighbors and leadership spent years grappling with how to develop two parcels of land that were donated for the good of the residents; one included the town’s only post office. With a high population of residents with mobility issues and a hilly terrain, the plan needed to increase accessibility and connection.
“Our RecTAP grant was the jumpstart we needed to get this project underway,” said Kara Scott, president, Bowmanstown Area Residents Connected (BARC), a local community group dedicated to improving Bowmanstown by increasing community participation and communication. “We had been talking about how to use this land for more than a decade. This grant enabled us to develop a concept design with a flat walking loop near area amenities, trees, benches, bike racks, ADA parking and more to connect people to nature and each other.”
PRPS draws upon a broad list of park, recreation and trails professionals with expertise in planning, management, development, partnership, sponsorship, and more. This team provides technical assistance that significantly increases the value of the grant.
BARC was matched with Jason Woods, RLA, a Registered Landscape Architect from Woodland Design Associates, to develop the concept design. “Jason has been a guiding star throughout this process since day one and continues to be willing to see it all the way through. Access to Jason helped level the playing field for our small rural community. Areas like ours seldom have the ability to match grants, which can make it hard for us to prioritize parks and rec. Jason’s expertise is enabling us to find ways to make this critical project materialize.”
Unlike many grants, RecTAP is non-specific, allowing grantees the freedom to choose what is most important to their community.
“RecTAP can help smaller nonprofits or municipalities get started on a project that seems daunting because they are under-resourced,” says Herd. “Many of these organizations, who are responsible for providing park and recreation services, lack the capacity for the planning or the resources to pay for it.”
RecTAP grants are specifically designed for small, deliverable projects which can be completed within six months. The only other requirement is that they be used to improve a local park, recreational facility or trail. PRPS has received applications from Park & Rec Departments, municipalities and community groups.
“The goal is to empower communities to improve the recreation of their citizens, by helping them realize the potential of their local parks and recreation facilities and solve discrete problems or issues that will improve the facilities or access,” says Herd.
PRPS has awarded more than 75 RecTAP grants over the past 20 years to nonprofits and municipalities across the commonwealth for projects as diverse as lifeguard recertification and youth sports training, strategic planning, trail construction, and playground and site planning with community input. See more of how the grants have been used.
To apply. Questions may be directed to Tim Herd, herd@prps.org.
# # #
Rachel Ezekiel-Fishbein
Making Headlines PR
+1 267-679-2463
Rachel@Makingheadlinespr.com
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Instagram
YouTube
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
