Impact

EVERY youth deserves opportunity beyond the classroom walls.

This is where they become LEADERS, explore the RISK & REWARD, practice SOCIAL and ENVIRONMENTAL responsibility, this is where their LIVES are CHANGED.

Outdoor recreation

connects our youth to the environment, their peers and to mentors.

No screens, no apps, just real connections, raw people, natures creation and recreation in action.

Program Assistance

We connect youth by awarding program assistance for recreation programs, summer camps, sport leagues and more.

Youth Development

We empower youth through Friends of R.E.C, a park improvement youth led service-learning project. We also support leadership development and program sustainability by subsidizing a Youth Development Coordinator position for Kzoo Parks.

Park Improvements

Dedicated to sustaining park safety and access to recreation programs for the Kalamazoo community, we subsidize funding requests for park and program improvements.

In 2022, we awarded $30,000 in financial assistance funding to help more than

Youth

Before I attended camp at Mayor’s Riverfront Park and the Youth Development Center, I used to watch TV … a lot! Being at Mayor’s helped me sleep at night because it made me really tired. My mom, sister, and I don’t have a lot of money so my Mom got me a scholarship to go to YDC so she could go to work without me bothering her. We just moved to Kalamazoo so I didn’t know a lot of people. The counselors at YDC and Mayor’s are SO nice! Some of my favorite things that we did were kayaking, Kik Pool, Roller World, Girl Scouts, and Full Blast.

I definitely want to go back to camp because of the awesome counselors and CITs and because it helps me be crazy! I would be very sad if I couldn’t go because I love it!

Clara
Scholarship Recipient

Being a camp counselor taught me that camp, to some kids, is the only safe place and the only snack or meal they’ll have that day. I’ve watched kids grow and mature in the span of a couple of months because we provide that safe place for them. It’s a powerful thing being a counselor in that environment, watching those kids grow and mature, knowing that you had a hand in that.

My job is to be weird and put kids at ease. It’s remarkable how much a child can grown when they don’t have to worry about being afraid or fed. A child grows so much in a safe space. When those kids are exposed to different ways of living, going on field trips and new activities, it really changes a child mentality and helps them grow.

Sydney
Camp Counselor

I live in the Edison neighborhood and am the manager of the neighborhood grocery store. I take care of my three grandchildren and used to have to pay for babysitters all summer. I started taking them to some programs through the city, like Swim-for-Success and T-ball. I needed to have them taking part in programs all summer but I couldn’t afford to pay to have all three kids enrolled in camp…until I learned about the scholarships.

Having scholarships allows our family an affordable summer program that is familiar and right near our home. The kids are active all day and aren’t sitting in front of the TV all summer. The kids love kayaking and going to Michigan Adventure. My older child is coming back next year as a CIT. I don’t know what we’d do without the scholarship and the Kalamazoo Recreation programs.

John
Scholarship Recipient

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