2012 Budget Summary - Chicago Park District

Community Recreationambassadors, sailing, stadium management, cheerleading, early childhood movementeducation, therapeutic recreation, recreation leader and fitness.Special Recreation - this unit oversees the District’s current 24 special recreation sites thatimplement specialty programs for individuals with disabilities. Responsible for implementingthe citywide Special Olympics and the citywide Adaptive Sports training and competitions.Responsible for implementing outdoor education opportunities and cultural programs forindividuals with disabilities. Responsible for City-wide inclusion assessments and technicalsupport for City-wide field staff. Responsible for specialty deaf/hard of hearing programs. TheProvides expertise in interviews and training for the special recreation field staff, monitors parkusage for special populations, oversees external special recreation partnerships with the District.Arts and Culture - The Arts and Culture Unit envisions parks as vital cultural space thatencourages all Chicagoans to explore and embrace the visual and performing arts and theirpower to enhance individual quality of life, neighborhood development and communitydialogue.Outdoor and Environmental Education (Nature) - The Outdoor and Environmental EducationProgram helps Chicagoans experience and enjoy the wonder of nature in the city. It strives tocultivate environmental awareness and appreciation by offering a wide range of nature-basedprograms through the seasons, in locations across Chicago. Programs and events generally takeplace in parks with unique and compelling natural areas.Special Events - The Special Events unit reaches every audience and community in the city.Through Movies in the Parks, Performances in the Parks, and Theater on the Lake, these eventscreate a cultural landscape in our communities. These events bring people together from allwalks of life and every corner of the city to dance together or experience a show or movie.People walk away with a positive feeling of the parks, our city and themselves.Wellness - Focus on citywide wellness opportunities to promote, encourage and motivate thedevelopment of a physically active and healthy lifestyle for people of all ages and abilities. Thisunit provides trainings, educational workshops, and certification opportunities as well astechnical support to field staff. The Wellness Unit oversees fitness and nutrition trainings tocitywide staff, programming at 6 Wellness Centers, 6 youth activity centers, 70 fitness centers,including installation, maintenance, and staff orientations for regional parks’ fitness centers.Wellness also spearheads grant seeking and writing to fund initiatives addressing childhoodobesity.2012 Community Recreation Departmental Goals (For all Regions)Develop and implement evaluation tool to capture performance measures for after school and daycamp programming.Update day camp and youth manuals to a user friendly electronic version.Continue to implement recommendations from the Eleven Committees.Use information gathered from the Community Engagement/Fee Study Grant to present foradditional funding for programs and training.80