Vision
Through Diversity Dallas, Texas
To say
that the Park and Recreation Department in Dallas, Texas never
sleeps is no exaggeration. Since the early 1980s it has offered a
non-stop array of activities—including aerobics at 3 a.m.,
earlybird basketball, and midnight to dawn athletic tournaments.
Its five major projects, Reverchon Park, Turtle Creek
parknership, Hands
Around the World, Adapted Aquatics, and Leisure in Volunteer
Efforts, have enriched life for the Dallas community.
Reverchon Park,
an inner city park with a full-service recreation center, operates
24 hours a day. It offers the city's 300,000 people who work odd
shifts and late hours the opportunity to enjoy the same activities
as those with normal working schedules. Among its many programs are
dawn to dusk volleyball, midnight softball, lectures, concerts, art
shows, and health screening for senior adults. One of Reverchon
Park's strongest supporters is the Dallas Police Force, which
reports that increased programming has reduced crime in the
city.
Reverchon Park
and four of the city's other parks are protected by another
Department program—the Turtle Creek
parknership, Inc. The
Department decided to create an endowment for the care of this belt
of parks. Community organizations and citizens, including former
First Lady Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson, joined together to raise $3.5
million for
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the endowment. Earnings will go toward better park maintenance, new
sculptures and fountains, horticultural displays, and free
concerts.
Children of
Dallas and Guadalajara, Mexico have a voice in the international
community through the Department's Hands Around the World Program.
The Program solicits drawings and paintings of daily life made by
children in both countries and exchanges the art between the two
cities. The displayed pictures and accompanying history lessons
stimulate cultural awareness on the part of the children. An effort
is being made to involve businesses and organizations by inviting
them to host exhibits, act as couriers, and sponsor exchanges.
The Dallas
Parks and Recreation Department reaches the disabled population
through Adapted Aquatics, a year-round aquatic program for mentally
and physically handicapped people. The program includes swim
lessons, wellness programs, aquaexercise, competitive swim teams,
and training for instructors, lifeguards, and volunteers. The
ultimate goal of the program is to mainstream disabled people into
existing aquatic programs.
Finally, many
of these endeavors have been made possible by the Department's
Leisure in Volunteer Efforts
(live) Program.
live includes
recruitment, selection, training, and evaluation of volunteers from
all segments of the community. The organizational structure
provides for the effective management of 1200 ongoing volunteers
and an additional 4800 special event volunteers. Through the
individual skills, interests, and knowledge of the volunteers, the
Department has been able to improve and expand services to its
citizens.
The
Foundation's grant will help create a perpetual fund, the interest
from which will be used for awards honoring employees' innovative
ideas in the Park and Recreation Department. Each year, 80 percent
of the fund's earnings will go toward the awards and 20 percent
will be retained for fund growth. To increase the size of the fund,
the department is seeking matching funds from local
foundations.