VIP Action Plan: Mission Areas

Articulating the benefits of the parks and recreation profession to individuals, neighborhoods and communities can be a challenging task. Through the VIP strategic plan document, Creating Community in the 21st Century, CPRS has articulated the diverse benefits accrued from parks and recreation in our vision statement: We Create Community Through People, Parks and Programs. This vision was carefully crafted from feedback obtained throughout the action planning process. To accomplish the vision, the action plan highlighted nine missions that park and recreation programming and facilities should demonstrate:

• Strengthen community image and sense of place (click here for more)
• Support economic development (click here for more)
• Strengthen safety and security
• Promote health and wellness (click here for more)
• Foster human development
• Increase cultural unity
• Protect environmental resources
• Facilitate community problem solving
• Provide recreational experiences

How we accomplish our vision is diverse – it’s as diverse as our state’s geography, population, climate, and people. The division of our mission into nine components allows each park and recreation agency to focus on those components that are most important to the community it serves. Agencies that have aligned their programs and services with those of their constituents have found success in garnering policymaker’s support, increased fiscal resources, and increased recognition for their role in “creating community.” The beauty of the profession’s vision, "We Create Community Through People, Parks and Programs," is that it does not mean changing your programming, facilities, or services. What it does require is a shift in your thinking and a shift in promoting why you provide certain facilities, programs and services. When we promote our day camp program, we often promote it under the mission component “providing recreation experiences.” Yet through the activities offered at the camp, the program also “promotes health and wellness, fosters human development, and increases cultural unity.”

It's important to remember that implementing the strategies from the VIP Action Plan does not mean changing your programming, facilities or services. It won't take a great deal of extra work on your part either. It simply means shifting the way you think about and promote your programming, facilities and services.