AGENDA #4c
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Acceptance of Grant for Camp Escapade
DATE: March 22, 2004
The attached resolution would accept a $5,000 grant to run one week of Camp Escapade, a camp for children with disabilities. The program would be run by the Town’s Parks and Recreation Department. The donation would come from Strowd Roses, Inc. through the Friends of Chapel Hill Parks, Recreation, and Greenways.
The Friends of the Chapel Hill Parks, Recreation and Greenways organization was approved for 501(c)3 status in the early 1990s. Since then, the organization has served primarily as a mechanism to accept and use various small donations for particular projects or program areas of the Town’s Parks and Recreation Department.
In 2001, a resident petitioned the Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Commission and the Council to provide funding for camps for youth with disabilities. The Council provided $25,000 to fund inclusion services for summer day camp participants with disabilities and funded a full-time community-based Therapeutic Recreation Specialist position, which had been deferred in previous years.
In 2003, the Council provided the Friends of Chapel Hill Parks, Recreation, and Greenways with a $10,000 grant to allow the organization to build a business plan, create promotional materials, and develop a base for future fundraising activities.
The Friends of the Chapel Hill Parks, Recreation and Greenways’ initial fundraising goal since the receipt of Town startup funds was to provide eight weeks of Camp Escapade for children with disabilities during the summer of 2004 through private donations. This grant would allow the Town to operate the camp for one week. If the Council accepts the grant the camp will operate for one week, most likely beginning on July 26. The Friends of the Chapel Hill Parks, Recreation, and Greenways organization still has three active grant applications with additional requests for funding that total $70,000. If additional funding is secured through those grant opportunities the camp could be extended.
Camp Escapade: Camp Escapade would be established to serve youth with disabilities in Chapel Hill and Orange County. Individuals who participate in Camp Escapade would have moderate to severe disabilities such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, or mental retardation. The need for a community-based day camp program for youth with moderate to severe disabilities is greatest during school vacations such as holidays and summer break.
Activities provided through this day camp would focus on improving the overall health and well-being of program participants. Daily programs would focus on facilitating personal growth, social interactions between peers, and helping individuals further develop recreational skills. Camp activities would include arts and crafts, swimming, self-expression through dance, music, games, and daily living experiences such as cooking and community outings.
Strowd Roses, Inc.: Strowd Roses, Inc. is a private charitable foundation which was established in 2001 under the will of Mrs. Irene Harrison Strowd of Chapel Hill. Significant additional funding was provided by the estate of Mrs. Strowd’s sister, Gladis Harrison Adams. In endowing the foundation, Mrs. Strowd wished to honor the memory of her husband, Fletcher Eugene Strowd, by providing in perpetuity for the maintenance and care of the Community Rose Garden which he founded, and by funding projects and organizations which would improve the quality of life for citizens of the greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro community.
Budget: If the Council accepts the grant we will include both the grant revenue and the proposed camp expenditures in the Manager’s recommended budget proposal for FY 2004-05.
Manager’s Recommendation: That the Council adopt the attached resolution that would accept a $5,000 grant from Strowd Roses, Inc., through the efforts of the Friends of Chapel Hill Parks, Recreation, and Greenways; authorize the Town Manager to include the $5,000 grant and proposed expenditures in the Manager’s Recommended Budget proposal for FY 2004-05; and thank the Friends of the Chapel Hill Parks, Recreation, and Greenways and Strowd Roses, Inc. for the donation.
A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING A $5,000 GRANT FROM THE FRIENDS OF CHAPEL HILL PARKS, RECREATION, AND GREENWAYS; AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO INCLUDE THE GRANT IN THE MANAGER’S RECOMMENDED BUDGET FOR FY 2004-05; AND THANKING BOTH STROWD ROSES, INC. AND THE FRIENDS OF CHAPEL HILL PARKS, RECREATION, AND GREENWAYS (2004-03-22/R-5)
WHEREAS, the Council has implemented a community-based Therapeutic Recreation program for people with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, the community has expressed a desire for a summer camp to serve youth with disabilities in Chapel Hill and Orange County; and
WHEREAS, Strowd Roses, Inc. has offered to provide $5,000 for Camp Escapade through the efforts of the Friends of Chapel Hill Parks, Recreation, and Greenways;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council accepts a grant in the amount of $5,000 from the Friends of Chapel Hill Parks, Recreation, and Greenways for a summer camp to serve youth with disabilities in Chapel Hill and Orange County.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town Manager is hereby authorized to include the $5,000 grant and proposed expenditures in the Manager’s Recommended Budget proposal for FY 2004-05.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council expresses its gratitude to Strowd Roses, Inc. and the Friends of Chapel Hill Parks, Recreation, and Greenways for their efforts to fund Camp Escapade.
This the 22nd day of March, 2004.