State of Health and Wellness Pledge
HISTORY
In December 2015, FRPA sent out a survey to Florida agencies throughout the state. This survey served as a tool to gather the information necessary to establish where we, as a state of Park and Recreation departments, stood on the platform of wellness in communities. The survey can be found here: Agency Position Survey on Health Initiatives (file is a download). The results of this survey can be found here: Health Survey Results.
The State of Health and Wellness Pledge was the result of months of work alongside the Florida Department of Health and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The FRPA Strategic Plan calls for us to leverage and connect parks and recreation to community health, and this Pledge was an effort to more deeply position our Parks and Recreation Agencies as a solution to Florida’s health and nutrition challenges. Each Parks and Recreation Agency was asked to sign the Pledge to commit to efforts that address the health and nutrition initiatives in their own communities.
On April 21, 2016, FRPA hosted its Annual Agency Summit, with over 100 Florida park and recreation professionals representing over 60 local parks and recreation agencies. The Summit focused on the importance of health in a community and how park and recreation departments are closely related to it.
“One should not have to look far to see that there are solutions to [the epidemic of obesity]. Parks and Recreation are one of those solutions,” FRPA President and Director of Miami-Dade Parks, Jack Kardys stated. “Second only to the public school system, we care for more children for longer periods of time than any other organization. We are a logical partner in the fight to make Florida a healthier State if not the healthiest State in the country.” In attendance were Florida’s Interim Surgeon General, Dr. Celeste Phillips and the Director of the Division of Food, Nutrition and Wellness at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, Lakeisha Hood. Phillips and Hood were presented with a resolution and copies of the signed pledges from 70 agencies around the state. These 70 agencies serve over 13 million people.
You are encouraged to download the documents below and use them as a standard checklist for your programs and policies in regards to community health.
Download the Health Pledge.
Download the Measurement Tool.
The following agencies signed the Health Pledge! These 85 agencies serve over 13.2 million people.
City of Bartow
City of Belleair
City of Boca Raton
City of Boynton Beach
City of Brooksville
Broward County
City of Cape Coral
City of Clearwater
City of Coconut Creek
Collier County
Cooper City
Town of Davie
City of Debary
City of Deerfield Beach
City of Delray Beach
City of Doral
City of Dunedin
City of Ft. Lauderdale
City of Greenacres
City of Hallandale Beach
City of Hialeah
Town of Hilliard
Hillsborough County
City of Hollywood
City of Kissimmee
City of Lake Mary
City of Lake Worth
City of Lakeland
City of Largo
City of Lauderhill
Lee County
City of Lighthouse Point
Manatee County
City of Margate
Marion County
Martin County
City of Miami
Miami Dade County
City of Miami Beach
Town of Miami Lakes
City of Miami Springs
City of New Port Richey
City of North Lauderdale
City of North Miami
City of Ocala
City of Oldsmar
Orange County
City of Orlando
Palm Beach County
Town of Palm Beach
Pasco County
City of Pinecrest
City of Plantation
Town of Ponce Inlet
City of Port Orange
City of Port St. Lucie
City of Safety Harbor
Sarasota County
City of South Daytona
Starkey Ranch
City of St. Cloud
City of St. Pete Beach
City of St. Petersburg
City of Tamarac
City of Treasure Island
The Villages
Volusia County
City of West Palm Beach
City of Weston
City of Wilton Manors
City of Winter Haven
City of Winter Springs
If you have any questions please call the FRPA Executive Office at (850) 878-3221 or email Charla Lucas.