Home Field Advantage. Creating Athletic Fields that Promote Healthy Children and Sustainable Communities
Date Published: 09/11/2007
Author: Tony Proscio
One sure yardstick for the health of a community is the health of its children. For decades, experts in planning, psychology, sociology, and childhood development have been drawing a firm line linking the quality of local recreational areas with the well-being of neighborhoods and their children. That connection is why LISC and the National Football League’s Youth Football Fund joined forces in 1998 to create the NFL Grassroots Program, which invests in modern, durable, welcoming places for children and communities to gather. This report presents case studies illustrating the challenges and the achievements of the NFL Grassroots Program in various communities. In each case, the distinguishing contribution of LISC and the NFL was not just the creation of a much-needed field, but support for the formation of a community endeavor — a common undertaking that links engaged residents and parents, youth programs, and civic, religious, and public institutions in a collective effort to protect and nurture the most precious asset of all: the community’s children.
Topics: Education, Children & Youth, --Recreational Facilities
Type: Case study / model practice