Linden Parks and Recreation Recognized
Submitted by Kathleen Avitt, NJRPA
Linden Department of Parks and Recreation was presented the Excellence in Visual and Cultural Arts Award for “The Crafting Corner Playground Program” and the Agency Showcase Award for Website or Web Feature/Application at the New Jersey Recreation and Park Association (NJRPA) Annual Awards Dinner at Summit Family Aquatic Center in Summit, NJ.
Present to accept the Excellence in Visual and Cultural Arts Award were Ralph Dunhamn (Recreation Director), Angelo Monaco (Day Camp/Playground Coordinator), Valerie Graham (Craft Supervisor), Rooks Crawford (Recreation Leader) and elected officials on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.
Challenged with creating Arts and Crafts programming during a socially distant summer, the staff of the Linden Recreation Department incorporated “The Crafting Corner” into their Virtual Summer Camp program. Designed to appeal to children between the ages of 5 through 18, this program offered 50 different craft lessons that participants could complete in the safety of their own homes.
Marketed through the weekly newsletter, program information and weekly materials pick up forms were sent through the email feature of Community Pass. Families were invited to pick up pre- registered “Craft Kits” through contactless delivery at their local recreation center. Linden Recreation Staff created 50 instructional videos that demonstrated how to successfully complete the established crafts.
Eighty seven families picked up the craft kits required to complete the program which cost approximately $5,000.00 in supplies and staff hours. Families reached out for extra supplies at the end of the program to continue the crafting of their favorite projects.
The positive feedback from those who participated in Crafting Corner prompted the staff to extend the program into the Fall options for Senior Citizens programming.
Present to receive the Agency Showcase Award for Website or Web Feature/Application were Ralph Dunhamn (Recreation Director), Angelo Monaco (Day Camp/Playground Coordinator), Branly Cadet (Playground Supervisor), and Joshua Weiss.
Faced with the challenge of providing Summer programming bound by Covid 19 restrictions and social distancing protocols, the staff of Linden Recreation responded by creating a Web based Virtual Summer Camp.
Virtual Summer Camp set out to provide a variety of programming opportunities for city residents. Angelo Monaco, Summer Day Camp/Playground Coordinator approved all aspects of the website and edited the embedded Google sheet that contained the weekly schedules and links to all of the instructional YouTube videos that were specific to each activity.
Virtual Camps included live instruction from qualified staff and guest presenters, specialized content and learning resources, after camp challenges to keep campers engaged between sessions, unplugged projects that encouraged children to keep learning away from the computer screen with a variety of dates and times to choose from so that participants could fit a variety of day camp activities into a single week. Programmatic success of the 2020 program has prompted a reboot of the Virtual Summer Camp website for the upcoming 2021 season, which will include new program offerings.
The purpose of the New Jersey Recreation and Park Association’s Awards Program is to honor and identify dedicated leaders, employees, and volunteers in the field of Parks and Recreation, and to recognize the State’s outstanding Recreation and Park agencies for excellence in programming, publicity, and facility design. The goal of the Awards Program is to focus State attention on the achievement of Park and Recreation agencies, to recognize the continuing efforts of staff and volunteers, and to acknowledge support extended by member agencies.
Photo by Jaye Joyce
