From the Desk of Angie Jeffords: Let me be clear!
FROM FROM THE DESK OF ANGIE JEFFORDS - DECEMBER 30, 2022
Dear Friends of the PLAY Boulder Foundation,
Let me be clear.
If there has been one thing I’ve bumped up against over and over during my first year at the ED desk at PLAY Boulder Foundation, it’s that people think, “oh, that’s nice!” about our organization, but they don’t really understand what we do. And they certainly don’t understand what value the PLAY Boulder Foundation adds to our community.
So, I’d like to clear all that up and define our “why.”
Obviously, we all pay taxes that support basic parks and recreation opportunities. The key word there is “basic.” In fact, the incredible recreational opportunities we get to enjoy here are much better than basic. PLAY Boulder Foundation raises money to enhance and improve on the basics that the city and tax dollars alone can’t provide.
We are a private non-profit partner to a public city governmental agency. Together, with your support and input, PLAY reaches beyond the basics.
We do what we do at PLAY so that we can all participate in what brings us together, the things we all have in common: a love for this town, a desire to maintain its natural beauty, the need to ensure we continue to have green cool spaces, a place that can be accessed by all to have fun and make memories. These things speak to the heart and soul of our community.
A good example of how PLAY expands on the work of Boulder Parks and Recreation is our Tree Trust. The division of forestry sits in the Boulder Parks and Recreation Department. We are so thankful to have their talented team caring for our public urban canopy and green spaces. However, 80% of Boulder is made up of private lands, which the city does not manage. This includes shopping centers, rental properties, and private homes. The Tree Trust and our volunteer Tree Tender program assist in increasing and caring for our urban canopy beyond what Boulder Parks and Recreation can manage alone. We can’t do this without you. It is time to lean into our natural climate solutions to combat the impacts of climate change in our community. With community action there is hope!
Click here if you're interested in supporting the Tree Trust or volunteering as a Tree Tender
Here’s another example: The city’s recreation centers offer financial aid for qualified youth to participate in their programing. This is great, but it is limited to the city’s class offerings, and the available financial assistance runs out quickly. PLAY Boulder provides additional vouchers to individual youth to help cover the fees of their recreational activities. We also partner with nearly 20 unique service providers outside of the City’s offerings so that families can have more choice in how their kids get to play. We’ve also learned that the “scholarship” doesn’t address all the barriers that keep kids who are financially challenged from participating in soccer or swimming or ballet lessons. So, PLAY Boulder steps in to provide translation services, support with registration, advocacy, and access to other resources in the community.
Already our PLAYpass applications for 2023 have exceeded our grant funding - if you are interested in Giving the Gift of PLAY, click here to learn more!
The PLAY Boulder Foundation is proud to support the Boulder Parks and Recreation Department to enhance and expand on their work. To do this we need your support - so please consider volunteering and donating to the PLAY Boulder Foundation as we come together to make a difference in how we ALL live, learn, and PLAY!
Sincerily,
Angie Jeffords