December 2009 - Parks & Recreation - 37

All public park and recreation agencies
can support injured service members
and their families around the country.
Sports and recreation opportunities can be an important part of the rehabilitation and
recovery of injured service members. Besides promoting program offerings, park
and recreation agencies can also support service members with the following:
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Discounts on Services - All agencies are encouraged to offer
discounted rates to service members and their families.
Getting back to Nature-Agencies should utilize the connections they have to trails,
ponds and nature experiences and promote these opportunities to service members. Being
in the outdoors allows for the mental and physical reprieve service members need.
Connect with Partners- Be sure to connect with local military partners
such as the American Legion, VA hospitals, etc. They can be great resources
and help you connect with service members in your community.
For additional information, contact Heidi Melancon at hmelancon@nrpa.org or
703-858-4730.

Changing Lives Through Sport
By Leslie L. Winckler, Consultant, U.S. Paralympic Military Programs, United States Olympic Committee

U. S . Paraly m pic S ,

a division of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC),
started the USOC Paralympic Military Program
in 2004 with one goal in mind: to help injured
service members by providing post-rehabilitative
support through adaptive sport techniques and
opportunities such as clinics, camps, and partnerships with community based organizations.
Today the program has expanded to numerous
community, military and partner organizations to
help provide ongoing Paralympic sports and recreation programming in hometowns across the
country.
One of the emerging programs with the USOC
Paralympic Military Program is the Army Warrior
Transition Units, (WTUs) collaboration project that
includes a planning meeting and Train the Trainer
event that helps the unit establish their own ongoing adaptive sports and physical training program. Working in collaboration with leadership
from the the WTUs, on-going programs run by
the WTUs are designed to enhance service members' rehabilitation, increase physical fitness and

to improve their quality of life. In late 2008, three
members from the USOC Paralympic Military Program, members from the National Recreation and
Park Association and the Ft. Bragg WTU met for
the initial planning meeting and to tour the WTU
facilities as well as to learn more about the services provided by Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks
and Recreation.
" We come into these meetings to help assess the local situation, facilitate the WTU training while establishing sporting goals, and then
we work together to develop a specific plan for
sports programming on a daily basis, " says Roger
Neppl, Director of the USOC Paralympic Military
Program. " We help answer the questions about
who will participate, what activities they will be
doing, the scheduling of activities and where they
will take place. "
During the planning meeting a relationship between the Ft. Bragg WTU and Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks and Recreation was built.
" We are very excited to be able to help our injured service members who are coming back from
www.NRPA .ORG

DECEMBER 2009

" If the soldier
feels he or she
can return to
their normal
lifestyle,
improve at their
employment,
or can pursue
higher goals,
then we have
accomplished
what we set
out to do. "
-Roger Neppl
Director of the USOC
Paralympic Military Program

Parks & Recreation 35

December 2009 - Parks & Recreation

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