November 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 52

R E C R E AT I O N

cies in the local community that could
offer valuable services and recreational programming to the military community stationed at Great Lakes. As a
result, they formed partnerships with
several off-base attractions and organizations in order to broaden services
and offerings. Great Lakes Community Recreation worked hand-in-hand
with a local community college to offer enrichment courses, including cartooning, drawing and painting classes,
and pet wellness clinics, right on the
base. They also worked with a nearby
botanical garden to register base families for weekend leisure skill and educational programs like making homemade ice cream, gumballs and super
balls. Recently, Great Lakes Community Recreation also partnered with
a popular sports and entertainment
center, indoor water park and the
county forest preserve for additional
classes and special military nights for
families. The Navy Community Recreation initiative allowed Great Lakes
to leverage these partnerships, which

facilitated greater quantity and variety
of programs and services offered to
program participants.
Throughout the year, Great Lakes
Community Recreation partnered
with other off-base support services
to offer themed programming that in-

Navy Community
Recreation keeps a pulse
on the community's
interests and needs,
as well as current
recreational trends...
cluded Month of the Military Child in
April and November's Military Family Appreciation Month. The Great
Lakes Community Recreation department coordinated the programs
and presented a consolidated month
of activities, events and outings

Runners participate in one of several races
that take place throughout the year at Naval
Station Great Lakes.

geared toward families. A sampling
of the wide variety of programming
and leisure-skill classes hosted by
Community Recreation this past year
includes overnight camping trips,
cinema café, basic bike maintenance
clinics, beginning archery classes,
DIY holiday wreath class, paint
nights, family sledding meet-ups, an
ice fishing trip, recreation and leisure
travel expo, DIY hand-knit scarf instruction, fly-tying class, kite-making
class, self-defense for women classes,
themed 1980s karaoke nights, Cinco
de Mayo and Mardi Gras parties,
pumpkin painting, family-fun nights
at the bowling center, DIY kid's moss
terrarium making, free fishing days,
how to make bonfire treats, camping
gear orientation, beach day, kayaking
class, story-writing contest, sensory-friendly movies, parent and child
photo booth, and outings to local
zoos, concerts, amusement parks and
theatrical productions. As a result of
the re-alignment under Community
Recreation and the partnerships with
local organizations this past year,
Great Lakes was able to offer approximately 48 trips and outings, about
50 new programs, 38 new classes/
clinics, and 14 major special events
to the base community, which was
an increase of 120 programs from the
previous year.
Growing Happy, Healthy
Communities
Survey data gathered from program
participants during the past year
has allowed staff members to evaluate and adjust programs to better fit
the needs of the base community.
This feedback was collected, analyzed and implemented to truly enhance the Great Lakes Community
Recreation program. Overall, the
customer feedback has been positive. Debra Pruitt, MWR customer
and military spouse, wrote, " MWR

50	 Parks & Recreation

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November 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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