March 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 57

in funding to local parks and recreation
every year - is investing in a happier,
healthier, more economically vibrant
Clarksville. CDBG dollars were essential in allowing Clarksville to finally bring the park back to full capacity.
The Trump administration, for the second year in a row, has targeted CDBG
for elimination in the president's budget
request, so it's critical to show members
of Congress, administration officials,
local officials and community members
how important CDBG is to providing
quality green space and recreation opportunities for everyone in communities
across the country.
The argument behind fully funding
CDBG is solid - for every $1 invested in CDBG, more than $3.65 is leveraged. But, as impressive as that return
may be, it's not the facts and figures
that will prevent CDBG's elimination.
Members of Congress are people, too,
and while facts and figures play a part
in defining their world view, it's experiences and anecdotes that appeal to
them and cut through the cacophony
of partisan politics that grips Washington, D.C.
This was obvious to me, and I'm sure
to many others at the Valleybrook Park
ribbon-cutting, as we watched the students from the Tabernacle Christian
School gleefully enjoy a playground that
simply would not be possible without
CDBG funding. It's hard to deny the
impact of CDBG - and other federal
investments in local parks and recreation - when you see it so clearly on
the faces of children and adults alike
enjoying a park.
There are more than 500 NRPA
members signed up as Park Champions, who are providing their members of Congress with memorable,
powerful, in-person experiences that
demonstrate the importance of investing in local parks and recreation.

Last year, our Park Champions held
more than 70 events showcasing their
parks, programs and facilities to their
federal-elected officials. In return for
sharing their stories, they've drawn attention to their work, built long-lasting
relationships with their elected officials
and helped to amplify the work of the
NRPA Public Policy team.
Like Clarksville Parks and Recreation,
many of you have incredible stories to
tell about your agency's work in your
community. You can make a difference
by sharing those stories with your members of Congress and administration officials. Sign up as a Park Champion at
www.nrpa.org/park-champions, and together, we can work to fight for the future
of parks and recreation.
Do you have a story to share? Take

a page from Clarksville's book and join
the Park Champion initiative by inviting
your federal-elected and administration
officials to your events. In addition to the
tools and resources available to you on the
NRPA website, such as our step-by-step
event planning guide, the Park Champion Advocacy Toolkit (www.nrpa.org/
our-work/advocacy/Park-Champions/
park-champion-advocacy-toolkit/), I'm
always available to help.
I'd love to hear from you and help you
join the ranks of the Park Champion initiative. Email me at jrasmussen@nrpa.
org or give me a call at 440.522.9162.
I can't wait to work with you to share
your story.
- Jayni Rasmussen, NRPA's Advocacy
and Outreach Manager

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March 2018 - Parks & Recreation

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