As case numbers rise, recreation departments get creative.
This Pandemic has hit everyone hard. Major changes to school, work and social lives have altered a lot of norms for American families. Another, less noted change, has been the services available for school age children outside the classroom. On any given day in a regular year, there was a bounty of programs, classes and activities for kids to participate in. From music lessons to little league baseball, many opportunities for children to stretch their legs and/or imagination was greatly diminished when private and public institutions were forced to close their doors to afterschool group activities. Some towns, businesses and volunteer organizations were able to keep their programs going with big changes to class sizes, cleaning procedures and rules. Others were told to close their programs down indefinitely. Luckily, indefinitely has not lasted forever.
As the spring rolled into summer, many municipalities were able to start outdoor instructional programs like Lacrosse and Soccer, where participants were able to spread out. Some were even running summer camps, though heavily modified, with great success! As case number dropped and the weather got nicer, people got outside. Packs of teenagers on bikes were seen cruising down the roads, parents took their younger children to playgrounds, and summer softball leagues even got partial seasons. Early fall graced us with some warm days which made staying outside even more enticing. But we all knew that living in New York, it would only last so long. In mid-September, temperatures began to drop and case numbers began to rise. We were again faced with the imminent reality that indoor activities, in the current state of affairs, are risky and likely to be called off. However, there was an alternative that many facilities had turned to during the summer, which they would be working on again.
Take home activities and virtually lead programs had become a lifeline for many people isolated in their homes in the early throws of the pandemic, and they may be the best alternative moving into another spike when being outdoors is not an all-day option. At the The Town of Onondaga Parks and Recreation Department, we usually spent our spring planning the youth dance recital, summer running our summer playground programs (at 4 locations), and fall hosting instruction sports activities and indoor activities like dance and karate. 2020 had different plans for us though. Instead of planning in-person activities, we spent our time working on free activity bags for residents to pick up at our office once per week, as well as compiling a virtual resource center for at-home activities. As October rolled into view, we decided we needed to add more to the bags to help combat the lethargy that the cold weather often brings.
So, we purchased re-usable bags and even more crafts and activities that families could buy each month and take home, $12 for Town residents, $15 for non-residents. We also promoted a number of free contests; a coloring contest for Halloween, where children grade K-4 submitted their coloring pages to be judged, the winners in each grade taking home a bucket of art supplies and candy. A scarecrow contest where families could win $50 credits towards future recreation programs. We have been doing them now for 3 months, if you include the December bags now available on our website (townofonondagarecreation.com). Our current winter contest is a “Door-Décor” event where families can submit their home-made wreaths or custom stoop decorations to win a $25 program credit for future activities. Pictures submissions are being sent to [email protected]. We are also hosting a “Letter to Santa” campaign, where children can vouch for why they should be on the “Nice” list. Letters can be mailed to, or dropped off at the office at 4834 Velasko Rd., where they will be sent off to the North Pole for inspection by the big man himself. The department is hopeful that in-person activities will resume in the near future, but until then, we are committed to leaning heavily on providing hands on activities that can be enjoyed at home. We hope to, in the new year, expand to doing some virtual classes lead by department employees and/or familiar instructors.
With a new year, there will inevitably be new challenges, but recreation departments across CNY are doing their absolute best to continue to provide opportunities and activities to children and adults whenever, and however they can. It is their missions to serve their communities with creative and engaging activities and events, especially in trying times, to help improve the quality of life for their residents. The current crisis will at some point be over, and we all look forward to being able to put it all in the past. Until then, the people who were putting together soccer practices, dance recitals and summer camps are still working hard to ensure these bad times, are just a little bit better.