Wilmington City Announces Details Of Summer Parks And Recreation Programs

From the City of Wilmington:

June 26, 2020

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki and Parks and Recreation Director Kevin F. Kelley, Sr. today announced details of summer parks and recreation programs, which are set to begin Monday, June 29. The City will offer recreational opportunities with all necessary COVID-19 health and safety precautions in place in accordance with State of Delaware Phase 2 guidelines. The Mayor said should any activity offered by the City result in COVID-related health concerns for participants or staff, the activity will be halted immediately for further review.

Swimming Pools
City swimming pools will open for the summer beginning Wednesday, July 1, 2020. These are:

• Eden Park Pool, on New Castle Avenue
• Foster Brown Pool at 7th and Lombard streets
• Joseph R. Biden Jr. Aquatic Center (formerly Prices Run Pool), at 26th Street and Speakman Place
• William “Hicks” Anderson Center, Fifth and Madison streets

City pools are scheduled to close for the summer on Saturday, August 8. For a complete schedule, visit www.WilmingtonDE.gov/citypools. The Department of Parks and Recreation has taken precautions by placing signage at all City pools in addition to supplying masks and hand sanitizer to the public. Also, the Department will have a dedicated staff person at each pool throughout the summer who will be responsible for cleaning and sanitizing according to State guidelines. Finally, the City will strictly adhere to state-mandated capacity guidelines for swimming facilities; namely, “the total number of guests permitted at any one time shall not exceed sixty percent (60%) of that swimming facility’s stated fire occupancy requirements.”

Wilmington’s spray parks will remain closed until further notice. For information about the City’s public swimming pools and spray parks, please contact the Department of Parks and Recreation at (302) 576-3810, or visit www.WilmingtonDE.gov/citypools.

Recreation Programs
The Department of Parks and Recreation is currently in the process of restoring the basketball hoops that were removed this spring to help parkgoers maintain the recommended six-feet social distancing. Playgrounds are also scheduled to reopen soon. Also, the following recreational programs and activities will take place this summer with all necessary COVID-19 health and safety precautions in accordance with State of Delaware Phase 2 guidelines:

Wednesday Night Track and Field
Mount Pleasant High School
July 1st; 8th; 15th; 22nd and 29th
All meets will begin at 5:45 p.m. and run until 8:15 p.m.

Men’s Softball
Kingswood I and Kingswood III, 23rd and Bowers streets
Brown-Burton Winchester Park, North Locust and East 23rd streets
July 6th through September 8th

Late Afternoon/Early Evening Park Programming
Kosciusko Park, South Broom and Maple streets
Haynes Park, West 30th Street and Miller Road
Operates Monday to Thursday, 4 p.m. – 8 p.m., from July 6th through August 6th

Playstreets
An announcement will be made within in the next few days concerning the Play Streets Program for this summer. The program, run in partnership with the Christiana Care Health System and the Wilmington Police Department as well as other non-profit and community partners, promotes recreation and healthy lifestyles for children and their families during nightly events. Play Streets also seeks to improve community engagement with police and other City government offices.

Youth Career Development Program
The City’s 2020 Youth Career Development (YCD) program, intended to help young residents develop valuable work skills and prepare them for a successful career and future, will employ approximately 250 youths in various jobs and internships within City government as well as in the business and community sectors. Participants are between the ages of 14 and 21 and have undergone background checks and drug testing prior to employment.

Internships
This year Youth Career Development participants will hire approximately 50 interns to work with entities that include Green Jobs in collaboration with the University of Delaware, Interfaith Housing, Freedom School, Theatrical Delights, City of Wilmington Arts Work, and the United Way of Delaware. Youth workers have been assigned a career mentor during the six- to eight-week program, and after successful completion will receive a letter of recommendation from their employer.

Workforce Track
Approximately 200 participants on the workforce track will work in entry-level jobs that are available in diverse businesses and agencies throughout the community. Partner worksites include the City of Wilmington’s Department of Real Estate and Housing, Public Works, License and Inspection, and Parks and Recreation. Private sector partners include the Riverfront Development Corporation, Southbridge Neighborhood House, Shop Rite, North Wilmington Library as well law offices, daycare centers, and other area employers.

YCD 2020 is a partnership between the City of Wilmington, Bank of America, and the Delaware Department of Labor. Training is provided by Bank of America and a host of nonprofit and private sector organizations.

Summer Food Distribution Program
Wilmington is again partnering with the United States Department of Education in a grant funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on the City’s annual Summer Food Service Program. The program is now serving FREE nutritious meals to youth in the City of Wilmington and New Castle County, and will operate June 29 through August 28, 2020.

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is a USDA, federally funded program administered by States that was established to ensure low-income children continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session. Free meals, which will include five breakfast meals and lunches, that meet Federal nutrition guidelines are provided to all children, 18 years old and under, at approved SFSP sites in areas with significant concentrations of low-income children. The City expects to serve as many as 400,000 meals this summer.

Provided to all children without charge, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability, the meals are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at various pools, parks, community centers, and mobile feeding sites throughout the City. For a list of Summer Food Service Program feeding sites, please follow this link.

The food program is offered to various agencies, youth organizations, summer camps, housing complexes, community centers, parks, and faith-based organizations. It is a federal program of the Food and Nutrition Services, funded by the USDA. The program has a goal of ensuring that no child goes hungry throughout the summer.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for food program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form (AD-3027), found online at: www.usda.gov/oascr, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (566) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410
Fax: (202) 690-7442.; or
Mail: program.intake@usda.gov

The City of Wilmington is an equal opportunity provider. For more information about times and locations, or to become a participating site in Wilmington or New Castle County, please contact the Wilmington Department of Parks and Recreation –Youth and Family Services Division—located at 500 Wilmington Avenue, at (302) 576-3810, or email Nicole Adams at nradams@WilmingtonDE.gov.

This press release was produced by the City of Wilmington. The views expressed here are the author’s own.