Politics & Government
Rec Supporters To Community: Thank You
The nonprofit group dedicated to raising money for the University Place recreation department met its goal in 2010 and handed a $74,000 check to the city on Tuesday night.
The year 2010 has now come to a close and we are excited to report to everyone that we have met our goal.
The community contributed over $74,000 in donations to the University Place Parks and Recreation Department to support its efforts to provide continued and increased premier recreational services to our youth, adults and seniors.
Scholarship accounts established for youth, adults, and seniors now total more than $5,000. Volunteer hours exceeded 7200 hours, which resulted in a savings of more than $150,000, based on the current volunteer value rate of $20.85 per hour. In addition, the department received thousands of dollars of ''in-kind" donations.
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Plenty of people deserve a big "thanks" for this effort, as without them, this simply would not have been possible:
UP Parks Commissioners Baldes, Anderson, Gooch, Heinzinger, Johnson, Jordon, and Vader - who showed their support of an "outside the box" vision.
Find out what's happening in University Placefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
UP City Managers Bob Jean and Steve Sugg - who listened to the community and believed it was possible.
UP City Council - which gave us the opportunity to prove we could do it.
UP Parks Director Gary Cooper- who kept us on track for the vision of long-term goals.
UP Recreation Manager Todd Smith - who stepped into the world of a new business model.
UP Parks and Recreation Staff – Jenifer Robinson, Brason Alexander, Brittany Bibby, who made changes in their routines to support the goals.
UP City Staff - who supported the parks department throughout everything.
UP Citizens - who stepped up when asked for their money, time, and ideas.
We especially want to give an extra thanks to those first 25 people in the community who stepped up big-time when asked to support the idea. We will always refer to these people fondly as the people who made it happen.
We are on our way to a successful 2011. We have events happening every month, so hopefully everyone can be involved in one way or the other. Please call the UP recreation department at 460-2530 to learn how you can participate.
The UP Community Supported Parks and Recreation 501c(3) EIN# 27-2280288 has now been established, so you can contribute with a tax deductible donation. Tax deductible donations can be made to UP Community Supported Parks and Recreation (UPCSP&R) at the UP recreation office, or you can e-mail me at jbaldes@comcast.net for more information.
Oh, and in case you read over it: Thanks UP.