Information for Fiscal Year 2016

(Oct. 1, 2015-Sept. 30, 2016)

Boise Parks & Recreation

Youth Services

The City of Boise’s Park & Recreation Department had another busy year of

providing needed services to youth who live in underserved areas. This report

highlights the impact that the three school based community centers (Morley Nel-

son, Whitney, Grace Jordan) and the four Satellite Kid City sites (Garfield, Haw-

thorne, Taft and Jefferson) had on the youth they work with on a daily basis.

AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Two big highlights of the year were adding new Satellite Kid City sites at two loca-

tions. The City of Boise Parks and Recreation Department now manages seven

after school sites, thus making an impact on the lives of even more children! Addi-

tionally, a new youth sports league was added to all of these sites so the children

have the opportunity to play in free organized youth sports leagues. Other high-

lights include:

Morley Nelson and Whitney Community Centers each hosted Thanksgiving din-

ner events for families to sit and enjoy a meal together. With the help of commu-

nity organizations they were able to create a lasting and quality experience which

for many was their only family dinner for the holiday. In all, 206 meals were pro-

vided.

In October of 2015, the Idaho Afterschool Network and the Boise Parks and Rec-

reation Department hosted the annual Lights On Afterschool Celebration at Mor-

ley Nelson Community Center. Mayor Bieter and First Lady Lori Otter were pre-

sent to announce a proclamation naming October 22 as Lights On Afterschool

Day. Over 100 youth participated in numerous activities supported by Eat Smart

Idaho, Boise Police Department, Stemfinity, BUGS, 4-H Healthy Living, Boise IT

department, Blue Cross High Five, and the Recreation Department.

During the 2016 Fiscal Year, Boise Parks & Recreation provided 23,872 meals

and/or snacks to youth. Providing a healthy meal for youth after school and dur-

ing summer months is a program priority. Our partnership with the Boise School

District has only grown stronger, and we were extremely excited in 2016 when the

Boise School District Nutrition Services were able to expand their own immense

program by providing after-school meals to our 7 elementary school locations.

This enabled us to focus more of our time on new programs being introduced.

With the help of BUGS and a private donation, Whitney Community Center was

able to double the size of their garden. Eight more garden boxes were built and a

new shed and an overhead canvas canopy were installed to create an outdoor

classroom space.

YEARLY STATISTICS

Morley Nelson Community Ctr.

39,359 youth visits

Grace Jordan Community Ctr.

14,768 youth visits

Whitney Community Ctr.

26,677 youth visits

Taft Satellite Kid City

8,297 youth visits

Hawthorne Satellite Kid City

7,340 youth visits

Jefferson Satellite Kid City

1,228 youth visits (1st month)

Garfield Satellite Kid City

1,070 youth visits (1st month)

Mobile Recreation Visits:

39,316 at school

4,898 at Summer Parks/Apt. Sites

1,221 at Special Events

Teen Night

4,878 Teen Visits

Clay O’ Rama

893 Teen Visits

Total Visits in FY 2016: 149,945

FY 2016 Youth Services Annual Report

NEW AFTER SCHOOL SITES OPEN

In addition to the afterschool programs opened at

Taft and Hawthorne during the 2014-2015 school

year, Boise Parks & Recreation opened two additional

Kid City sites at Garfield and Jefferson Elementary in

September of 2016. Consistent with the other BPR

community centers, the new afterschool programs are

free drop-in programs for students in 1st through 6th

grade and provide a variety of activities including

drop-in art, nutrition lessons and participation in the

new youth sports program. These afterschool pro-

grams have quickly become popular with students

and families and each sites sees approximately 60

students daily.

The Garfield Kid City program is funded by a partner-

ship with the Let’s Move Boise initiative. In addition

to the activities provided to all of the community cen-

ters, Garfield Kid City also receives services focused

on providing physical activity and nutrition opportu-

nities. Community partners including University of

Idaho 4-H Extension, the Boise Urban Garden

School, Boise State University and the Boise School

District all volunteered at this program providing les-

sons and games that teach participants the different

aspects of healthy living.

Let’s Move Boise (LMB) is a community wide initia-

tive to combat childhood obesity by increasing access

to physical activity and healthy food. The initiative

was founded in 2011 as a subcommittee of the

Mayor’s Council on Children and Youth. In an effort

to provide more comprehensive services, LMB’s pri-

mary goal over the last year has been to create and

implement a Let’s Move Community Center model to

integrate nutrition, food security and physical activity

education for students.

Garfield Elementary was chosen as the proposed site

based on the school’s high percentage of low-income

students and lack of free afterschool services. BPR,

the Boise Schools Education Foundation, St. Luke’s,

United Way and the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation

for Health each provided $5,000 to fund the launch

of the new program. Beginning in August of 2016,

daily afterschool services became available for stu-

dents in grades 1-6. This program is the seventh after-

school site operated by BPR at Boise School District

Title-1 schools and will be sustained by Boise Parks &

Recreation funding in following years.

Let’s Move Boise activities included nutrition classes,

gardening lessons, a youth sports league, ecological

activities, and hula hoop dance lessons.

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“We are so thankful for the Community Centers. On days we work late, we have peace

of mind knowing our kids are in a place where they are safe, happy, having fun and

fed. They love participating in the numerous fun learning activities that the Commu-

nity Center schedules. My kids have learned new skills like how to ski and have made

new friends. We are grateful for the new opportunities the Center brings to the kids in

our neighborhood. Thank you to the whole Community Center staff for being so won-

derful and loving our kids."

Kara S. (neighborhood parent)

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The Boise Bike Project (BBP) has been a partner with our afterschool

programs for over 6 years. Since their founding, the BBP has given

away thousands of bikes to children in need in our community. The

children who attend our community centers have seen the benefits of

these donations. The BBP is a natural fit for our recreation programs,

as we promote a healthy and engaged community while encouraging

the benefits of bicycling.

This past year, the afterschool programs hosted visits by the BBP,

Kids Fix It Nights, where volunteers meet at our centers to repair

youth bicycles and educate the community on bike safety. The BBP

has a new Mobile Bicycle Repair Station that is “pedal-powered” al-

lowing BBP employees to bike to our site with all their tools. Addi-

tionally, we’ve referred multiple families to the BBP for affordable

bicycling needs, and to participate in the BBP’s annual Christmas

Bike Giveaway.

PARTNERSHIP SPOTLIGHT:

BOISE BIKE PROJECT

YOUTH SPORTS LEAGUE

Boise Parks & Recreations started a youth sports league in September. This league engages each of Boise

Parks & Recreation’s seven afterschool sites in team sports. During the fall, the focus was on Flag Football.

During the afterschool program, each school held practices led by Boise

Parks & Recreation staff and had scrimmages against the other sites. For

the majority of these children, this was their first opportunity to engage

in an organized sports league. During the games, several parents and

family members attended and the Youth Sports League created not only

an organized sports outlet for youth, but it also created a forum for

school and community engagement. Parents brought lawn chairs, blan-

kets, and snacks to watch their children play in the games.

Team shirts for youth

were made possible

through a sponsorship

by Idaho Pizza Company

that totaled more than

$3,000.

STEM programming has taken a large leap forward at our community

centers. Morley Nelson Community Center entered its second year

providing STEM enrichment classes. The weekly class partners with

4-H University of Idaho Extension, Discovery Center of Idaho, Boise

Watershed, and Foothills Learning Center to bring the best of STEM

education to the Morley Nelson community.

In partnership with the Idaho Afterschool Network and Boise School

District, Whitney Community Center was able to provide an opportuni-

ty for ten middle school students to participate in the Zero Robotics

computer coding camp. The teens worked as a team to develop a com-

puter program that used the SPHERES satellites to solve a space relat-

ed challenge. After several phases of competition, teams met at BSU to

compete in a live championship aboard the International Space Station.

Astronauts on board the International Space Station acted as referees.

Morley Nelson, Grace Jordan and Whitney Community Centers participated

in the annual Sumobot competition at the Idaho State Fair. Morley Nelson

and Whitney placed 1st and 2nd place in the competition, which has teams

programming their battle bots in an attempt to defeat the opposing bot. The

equipment and instructors for Sumobots is brought to our program by a

lasting partnership with the University of Idaho Extension 4-H. Teams met

once per week over the summer to build, create and test their bots.

In partnership with Boise State STEM faculty from the Colleges of Engi-

neering, Arts & Sciences, and Education, BSU was awarded a National Sci-

ence Foundation grant totaling more than one-million dollars. The grant

will allow Boise State faculty, in conjunction with teachers from the Boise

School District, to dedicate weekly STEM classes at each of our afterschool

locations. The ultimate intent is to broaden the exposure of STEM concepts

by educating community center staff and school instructors with the tools

they need to bring STEM into regularity.

STEM PROGRAMMING

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In FY ‘16, approximately 126 volunteers donated 1,674 hours for youth programs.

For the purposes of this report, we are using an hourly wage of $20.97/hour

(Independent Sector hourly value for volunteer services in the state of Idaho). Using

this figure, volunteers donated $35,103.78 worth of services for Boise Parks & Rec-

reation Youth Services. Of those volunteers, 107 were students from Boise State

University’s Service Learning (SL) program. The SL program has been an invaluable

partner to Boise Parks & Recreation’s programs. The SL program connects BSU

classrooms with community organizations in order to enhance student learning

through hands on experiences in the work place and encourage students to be active

citizens.

VOLUNTEER HOURS

The Boise Parks and Recreation Playcamp is a child-care licensed summer camp offered for students ages 6-12 at

six city park locations. Playcamp includes weekly field trips, art classes, games at the park and swimming twice a

week at city pools. During the past summer, Playcamp had 3,031 participants through the 11 weeks of camp, re-

sulting in the highest number of participants yet.

To further our commitment to safety, Boise

Parks and Recreation required all Playcamp

staff to become child-care licensed through the

Boise City Clerk’s Office. In order to become

licensed, all child-care workers are required to

take up to 14 hours of training annually (hours

vary depending on experience and education).

Training topics can include childhood develop-

ment, education, psychology, business manage-

ment, safety and health. Child-care workers are

also required to renew adult, child and infant

CPR/First Aid certification annually. BPR as-

sisted 44 individuals in receiving these licenses

to work at Playcamp this past summer by

providing guidance and partial reimbursement.

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KRISTIN ARMSTRONG MUNICIPAL PARK DEDICATION

On August 28, 2016, hundreds of Boise residents gathered at Municipal Park where the City of Boise honored

three-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Kristin Armstrong. Boise Parks & Recreation’s Mobile Recreation was also

in attendance providing activities. Many of the youth played dodgeball, giant Jenga, parachute games and par-

ticipated in potato sack races during the event. The line for face painting was constant and staff estimated that

they face painted over 200 youth. At one point

several Boise Firefighters even joined in the dodge-

ball fun.

PLAYCAMPS

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Ada County Highway District

Big Brothers, Big Sisters

Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation

Boise Bicycle Project

Boise Farmer’s Market

Boise Little Theatre

Boise Mobile Market

Boise Rescue Mission

Boise School District

Boise Schools Education Foundation

Boise State Service Learning

Boise State University

Boise Urban Garden School

Boise Watershed

Church on the Bench

Discovery Center of Idaho

Dry Creek Community Church

Eat Smart Idaho

Girl Scouts of America

Girls on the Run

Hidden Springs Community

Idaho Afterschool Network

Idaho Coalition Against Sexual &

Domestic Violence

Idaho Commission for Libraries

Idaho Food Bank

Idaho Humane Society

Idaho Meth Project

Idaho Pizza Company

Jannus

Jim Hall Foothills Learning Center

Boise City Library!

Life’s Kitchen

NeighborWorks

Payette Children’s Forest

Rotary Club of Boise

Sawtooth Society

Sojourn Church

St. Luke’s

Treasure Valley YMCA

United Methodist Church

United Way

University of Idaho Extension 4-H

Program

Vista Neighborhood Association

Women’s and Children’s Alliance