Give Back to Your Professional Community!

Members of IPRA and Friends:

We have so much to be grateful for. We give thanks for all that we have; our families, our health, our security, and our opportunities. We give thanks for our careers and all the friendships we have made in service to our communities. For all of us, in our careers, we can look back and see that our success comes from both formal education and informal networking. We see that professional development has been most effective for us when we could attend an event in person and learn from others in the room, making connections that stayed with us for years. 

The Illinois Park and Recreation Foundation (IPRF) would like you to think about what you have learned from those opportunities and those people who helped you along the way. We ask you to show your gratitude by giving back to your professional community through a donation to the foundation.

Last year, in 2014, we were able to award scholarships to 43 professionals and students totaling $11,951. This has more than doubled since 2012 and we hope to continue to grow this program and support professional development for students and professionals.

IPRF raises funds for just four purposes: 1) to provide scholarships to educational events for professionals, 2) to provide scholarships to college students to attend educational events, 3) to go towards sponsoring activities which may play a positive role in supporting IPRA members statewide, and 4) for disaster relief for park and recreation organizations. All donations you provide will be split 40/40/10/10 for these respective purposes.  

Donations are tax deductible. Make your donation today by sending a check to Illinois Park and Recreation Foundation at 536 East Ave., La Grange, IL 60525 or online.

As we take a moment to give thanks, we also want to thank you for all that you do to promote parks and recreation in your family, your community, and our profession. We are so fortunate to belong to a community that helps each other to learn and to succeed. Thank you for being such an important part of our service together.

With thanks,                                                                                            

Mike Clark                                                                              Debbie Trueblood

Illinois Park and Recreation Foundation                                 Illinois Park and Recreation Foundation

Chair                                                                                      Executive Director