Together we can close the parks and recreation equity gap in Los Angeles County.

Scroll to learn more about LACPF’s programs and advocacy initiatives.

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COMMUNITY

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NATURE

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PARKS

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SPORTS

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ADVOCACY

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COMMUNITY ⚬ NATURE ⦿ PARKS ⦾ SPORTS ◉ ADVOCACY ◎

Los Angeles Clippers Community Courts Program.

  • In partnership with the Los Angeles Clippers Foundation (LACF), the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation and the Los Angeles County Parks Foundation have developed a program to upgrade basketball courts across the County parks system. The Clippers Foundation, featuring the likes of professional basketball player and Los Angeles native Russell Westbrook, is a non-profit organization aimed at promoting educational, environmental, and humanitarian values through community-oriented events and programming.

  • In 2023, the Clippers Foundation donated $5.3 million to the Los Angeles County Parks Foundation to fund the Clippers Community Courts program, a countywide initiative to refurbish and improve all 117 basketball courts operated by the Department of Parks and Recreation. These courts are located at 60 parks countywide, including many in park-poor neighborhoods that are lacking in quality recreational facilities and programs. This program builds upon the Clippers Foundation partnership with the City of Los Angeles, bringing the total number of Clippers Community Courts across Southern California to nearly 500 courts.

Adopt a Bench Program.

  • The Los Angeles County Parks Foundation (LACPF) Park Bench Dedication Program provides an opportunity for individuals, families, organizations, and groups to pay tribute to those whom they wish to commemorate by purchasing a bench to be installed in one of the beautiful parks within the LA County Department of Parks & Recreation System.

  • The LACPF Adopt a Bench initiative is a donation-based program in which applicants can partner with the LA County Department of Parks and Recreation (LACDPR) to install commemorative bench in a preferred park. The donor shall complete a formal application and submit it to LACPF (lacpf.org). Upon receipt of the application and donation, LACPF will work with the applicant to determine a final location for the bench within a LACDPR park. The Parks Foundation and LACDPR work with site furnishings manufacturer Landscape Forms to detail a 2”x10” commemorative bronze plaque on a six-foot wide bench.

LA County Department of Parks and Recreation Sports Division.

  • The County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) is committed to play equity by providing accessible and affordable recreational sports programming, especially in the most vulnerable communities. In addition, DPR has invested in programs to address gender equity and inclusive adaptive sports.

  • DPR created a Sports Division in 2021 to address the lack of accessible and affordable sports. Since then, DPR has served over 60,000 youth in the unincorporated communities with recreation sports programs including flag football, baseball, softball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, wrestling, cheer and skateboard jam sessions. We have also expanded aquatics programming to include water polo, dive and swimming teams, as well as the Junior Lake Lifeguard program and urban fishing derbies.

Puente Hills Regional Park Youth@Work Cohort.

  • Studio-MLA and the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation have partnered to create a work experience and enrichment program for area youth as an extension of the Puente Hills Regional Park project team. Working within the existing framework of Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity’s Youth at Work program, offering paid work experience to participants aged 14-24, the project team has recruited and trained three cohorts of up to 15 students each to work on the project from local High Schools in neighborhoods directly impacted by the landfill site.

  • The program places students from the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District alongside landscape architecture and park operation professionals. Over 40 students have contributed to the design of the Puente Hills Regional Park—working on community engagement, project design, and programming ideas for the future park. Beyond their contribution to the ideas being developed for the park, students are trained and leave the program with skills focused on preparing them for higher education and the workforce, including fundamentals of landscape architecture and graphic design, stewardship, presentations, critical analysis, environmental justice, and many more. The program’s fourth cohort is slated to begin in March 2024, with future cohorts being planned alongside the park’s development.

ESTEAM Summer Camp Scholarships.

  • The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and offers an 8-week ESTEAM Camp (Environment, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) at 28 sites throughout Los Angeles County Parks. Campers can become connected with the outdoors, explore early career pathways, build their self-confidence and understanding of ESTEAM topics, and learn to take action to improve their natural environment. Curriculum is inclusive and supports the development of school-age BIPOC youth between the ages of 6-11. ESTEAM provides campers with hands-on learning activities that excites, energizes, and exposes youth to a wide variety of skills and ideas. Children will have fun learning through group games, arts and culture experiences, technology using robotics, coding and gaming, field trips, engineering logo projects, guest speakers in the fields of ESTEAM, and project-based learning. Morning and afternoon snacks and lunch are provided.

  • The ESTEAM Program is primarily offered in BIPOC communities and is designed to integrate informal multi-subject learning into hands-on collaborative project-based activities for school-age camp participants. The program’s big picture goal is to foster community-wellbeing by having a positive educational impact on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM), that will ultimately provide career pathways for young campers, which will elevate college access and future employment opportunities. It is appropriate for an employer as large as the County to also engage other County Departments in the curriculum planning to create pathways into County STEAM jobs by increasing access and opportunity through programs like ESTEAM. Participation in STEAM programs is shown to increase educational attainment, improve social skills through collaboration as well as strengthening community and County engagement in preparing young people for future careers.

Sports For All Scholarships.

  • All youth deserve the chance to play sports! Sports are one of the most constructive outlets for children – teaching valuable life lessons, like teamwork, commitment, and dealing with adversity. Yet, the percentage of kids who participate in competitive and high-calorie-burning sports is declining in America, as youth sports opportunities are increasingly costly and exclusive. Sports participation among youth living in households with the lowest income is about half that of youth from wealthier households. (Aspen Institute Project Play Report). Sports for All supports the belief that competitive sports are for everyone and that youth in underserved communities deserve to chase their dreams and gain experiences that develop their abilities to succeed later in life.

  • Sports for All emphasizes skills development, team concepts, a sense of fair play, and fun. Youth practice and play competitively as part of a team. Game scores and league standings will be kept for older youth divisions. The season culminates in a tournament with top winners advancing to a League Championship Game. Seasons last 8-10 weeks, depending on age, with weekly practices and games.

Out-of-School-Time Fun, Afterschool Program.

  • This program provides a fun, safe place to be after school for youth grades ages 7-17 who are looking to develop their skills in sports, fitness, art, and technology. E-Sports uses a video game format for individual and team competition. This is part of LA County Park’s ESTEAM (Environment, Science, Engineering, Arts and Math) programming with a focus on technology. Activities promote pro-social skills, teamwork, problem-solving, and developing confidence in using technology. Studies show that afterschool programs reduce juvenile crime in the U.S.

  • Youth participants take part in intramural E-Sports league play. In addition, youth learn 3-D printing, coding, and other creative design platforms. Additionlly, youth are exposed to professionals in the fields of gaming and technology as a means for exploring early career pathways.

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Support the power of parks.

Across Los Angeles County, all communities deserve access to diverse parklands, competitive sports, learning camps, and safe community-based programs that will equip them to succeed later in life. Partner with LACPF to eliminate the County's parks and recreation funding and resource gap.