Title
Grants Application for Youth Gardening (NB)
This item requests the City Commission to authorize an application by the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department for six Youth Gardening Grants, which are available from the National Gardening Association, in partnership with Home Depot, as a program to engage children in gardening.
Explanation
The City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department conducts six after school programs at the following centers: Eastside Recreation Center, Northeast Community Center, Porters Community Center, Union Academy/Rosa B. Williams Recreation Center, T.B. McPherson Recreation Center and Westside Recreation Center.
The National Gardening Association along with Home Depot has developed a grant program to engage children in gardening. They will award five (5) $1,000 gift cards and ninety-five (95) $500 gift cards to qualifying agencies. The purpose of the grant is to engage youth ages 3 to 18 in gardening, as well as teaching basic science and life skills.
Funding priority will be given to applicants whose programs emphasize the following elements: educational focus on curricular/program integration; nutrition or plant-to-food connections; environmental awareness/education; entrepreneurship; and social aspects of gardening such as leadership development, team building, community support and service-learning.
If the grants are awarded, existing staff will administer the grant activities, and all of the above elements will be emphasized in existing youth programs.
Fiscal Note
No matching funds are required for this grant.
Recommendation:
The City Commission: 1) approve an application by the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department for National Gardening Association grants for the following afterschool locations: Eastside Recreation Center, Northeast Community Center, Porters Community Center, Union Academy/Rosa B. Williams Recreation Center, T.B. McPherson Recre...
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