National Recreation and Park Association

Last updated
National Recreation and Park Association
National Recreation and Park Association logo.png
FormedAugust 14, 1965
HeadquartersAshburn, VA, U.S.
Members60,000+
MissionTo advance parks, recreation and environmental conservation efforts that enhance the quality of life for all people.
Website http://www.nrpa.org/

The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is the leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to building strong, vibrant and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation. NRPA advances this vision by investing in and championing the work of park and recreation professionals as a catalyst for positive change in service of equity, climate-readiness, and overall health and well-being.

Contents

NRPA's network of more than 60,000 park and recreation professionals and advocates represents public spaces in urban communities, rural settings and everything in between. NRPA champions and supports the field of parks and recreation through professional development, advocacy, grants and programs, research, publications and more.

The mission of the National Recreation and Park Association is "to advance parks, recreation, and conservation efforts that enhance the quality of life for all people."

History

Children in NYC dancing at a meeting of the Playground Association, 1908 Hungarian dance - Playground Ass'n Meeting (New York) LCCN2014682910.jpg
Children in NYC dancing at a meeting of the Playground Association, 1908

In 1906 the Playground Association of America was founded, [1] which later became the National Recreation Association and ultimately the National Recreation and Park Association. [2] The history and heritage of the public park and recreation field is preserved by the Joseph Lee Memorial Library and Archives located in NRPA's headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia. [3] [4]

Their Work

The National Recreation and Park Association believes parks and recreation is used to improve a person's potential by providing them with facilities, services, and programs that meet the emotional, social and physical needs of a community. NRPA values the environment by offering environmental educational programs, and striving for ecologically responsible management. NRPA not only values the community, but it takes a special interest in every individual it affects. It attempts to elevate the quality of life for all citizens of a community by endorsing individual and community wellness. It partners up with many other respected organizations to provide a community with access to healthcare, cultural understanding and economic aid.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunedin, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

Dunedin is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Dunedin is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metropolitan area and is the fifth largest city in Pinellas County. The population was 36,068 as of the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salisbury, Maryland</span> City in Maryland, United States

Salisbury is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, United States. Salisbury is the largest city in the state's Eastern Shore region, with a population of 33,050 at the 2020 census. Salisbury is the principal city of the Salisbury, Maryland Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is a commercial hub of the Delmarva Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheney, Washington</span> City in Washington, United States

Cheney is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The full-time resident population was 13,255 as of the 2020 census. Eastern Washington University is located in Cheney. When classes are in session at EWU, the city's population reaches approximately 17,600 people temporarily.

The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medical Library Association</span> Nonprofit, educational organization of health-sciences information professionals

The Medical Library Association (MLA) is a nonprofit educational organization with more than 3,400 health-sciences information professional members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Wildlife Federation</span> U.S. nonprofit environmental organization

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is the largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization in the United States, with over six million members and supporters, and 51 state and territorial affiliated organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CNIB Foundation</span> Organization for the blind based in Canada

The CNIB Foundation is a Canadian charitable organization and volunteer agency dedicated to assisting Canadians who are blind or living with vision loss, and to provide information about vision health for all Canadians. Founded in 1918 as the Canadian National Institute for the Blind to assist soldiers who had been blinded in the First World War, CNIB originally offered sheltered care and specialized employment to people with vision loss. It has since expanded to include other programs and services, including research, public education, rehabilitation counselling and training, advocacy and an alternative-format library for people living with a print disability. It is a member of the Braille Authority of North America.

Health advocacy or health activism encompasses direct service to the individual or family as well as activities that promote health and access to health care in communities and the larger public. Advocates support and promote the rights of the patient in the health care arena, help build capacity to improve community health and enhance health policy initiatives focused on available, safe and quality care. Health advocates are best suited to address the challenge of patient-centered care in our complex healthcare system. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) defines patient-centered care as: Health care that establishes a partnership among practitioners, patients, and their families to ensure that decisions respect patients' wants, needs, and preferences and that patients have the education and support they need to make decisions and participate in their own care. Patient-centered care is also one of the overreaching goals of health advocacy, in addition to safer medical systems, and greater patient involvement in healthcare delivery and design.

Patient advocacy is a process in health care concerned with advocacy for patients, survivors, and caregivers. The patient advocate may be an individual or an organization, concerned with healthcare standards or with one specific group of disorders. The terms patient advocate and patient advocacy can refer both to individual advocates providing services that organizations also provide, and to organizations whose functions extend to individual patients. Some patient advocates are independent and some work for the organizations that are directly responsible for the patient's care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trust for Public Land</span> Environmental organization in San Francisco, United States

The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has completed 5,000 park-creation and land conservation projects across the United States, protected over 3 million acres, and helped pass more than 500 ballot measures—creating $70 billion in voter-approved public funding for parks and open spaces. The Trust for Public Land also researches and publishes authoritative data about parks, open space, conservation finance, and urban climate change adaptation. Headquartered in San Francisco, the organization is among the largest U.S. conservation nonprofits, with approximately 30 field offices across the U.S., including a federal affairs function in Washington, D.C.

Huntington is home to dozens of parks located in the neighborhoods of Huntington. An amusement park is also adjacent to the city.

Citizen Corps is a program under the Department of Homeland Security, founded in 2002 as part of the USA Freedom Corps, that provides training for the population of the United States to assist in the recovery after a disaster or terrorist attack. Each local Citizen Corps Council partners with organizations, volunteers and businesses to organize responders, volunteers and professional first responders for an efficient response so efforts are not wasted by being duplicated. By training in Incident Command, volunteers know whom to report to and how the incident is organized. This prevents sites from being inundated by untrained and unprepared personnel preventing operation. Citizen Corps also works in conjunction with the Corporation for National and Community Service in promoting national service opportunities for promoting homeland security needs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roswell Recreation and Parks</span>

The Roswell Recreation and Parks is a municipal department serving the city of Roswell, Georgia. It oversees eight public-use parks covering over 900 acres and sponsors over 25 athletic programs ranging from soccer, football, basketball, baseball, and swimming for all age groups. It has been recognized as one of the top civic recreation programs in the United States. The Roswell Recreations Department also works closely with local middle and high schools by providing practice fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in New York City</span> Ethnic group

Jews comprise approximately 10% of New York City's population, making the Jewish community the largest in the world outside of Israel. As of 2020, over 960,000 Jews lived in the five boroughs of New York City, and over 1.9 million Jews lived in the New York metropolitan area, approximately 25% of the American Jewish population.

Robert Wilson Crawford was an American pioneer of public park policy and served in the park and recreation field for over forty years. As the "Commissioner of Recreation" in Philadelphia, he established a national model for the local government’s provision of recreational services for all citizens, and his methods have been copied in cities nationwide.

Joseph Lee was a wealthy Bostonian who trained as a lawyer but never practiced law, and is considered the "founder of the playground movement". He was a social worker, author, and philanthropist. Lee believed that community life could be strengthened by playgrounds and play. Lee was also a proponent of eugenics and a major financial supporter of the Immigration Restriction League, a Boston-based group that promoted race-based eugenics as a basis for restricting immigration from eastern and southern Europe.

Human services is an interdisciplinary field of study with the objective of meeting human needs through an applied knowledge base, focusing on prevention as well as remediation of problems, and maintaining a commitment to improving the overall quality of life of service populations The process involves the study of social technologies, service technologies, and scientific innovations designed to ameliorate problems and enhance the quality of life of individuals, families and communities to improve the delivery of service with better coordination, accessibility and accountability. The mission of human services is to promote a practice that involves simultaneously working at all levels of society in the process of promoting the autonomy of individuals or groups, making informal or formal human services systems more efficient and effective, and advocating for positive social change within society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Playground</span> Place with a specific design for children to be able to play there

A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people with disabilities. A playground might exclude children below a certain age.

The New Orleans Recreation Department is the department of the local government of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana USA, that operates and maintains recreational facilities for the people of the city. It is commonly known by the acronym NORD.

References

  1. Playground Association of America (April 1907). The Playground. Executive Committee of the Playground Association of America. p. 6-7.
  2. "The Story of the Joseph Lee memorial Library and Archives" (PDF). National Recreation and Park Association. April 10, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 26, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  3. "About NRPA, Public Parks Advocacy Organization". National Recreation and Park Association. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  4. "About public parks" . Retrieved 4 February 2019.