Politics & Government

Recreation Director Focuses on Fundraising, Volunteers

Recession, budget cuts require adjustments for Pinole Recreation Director Amy Wooldridge.

Local government ain't what it used to be. The economic recession and have forced it to become leaner and meaner. For Pinole's recreation department, that means finding money to pay for itself, including department salaries.

In adopting a budget this year, Pinole city council members said, essentially, that the city can't afford recreation programs and services. After this fiscal year's $57,000 in funding, public money for the department is likely to disappear.

That has put a new onus on Pinole Recreation Director Amy Wooldridge to raise user fees and to raise money to pay for programs and community events. Increases have been imposed on fees for preschool child care, lunches at the senior center and nearly every other service. Some popular and longstanding annual events that have taken for granted are in jeopardy.

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"We raised fees almost across the board," said Wooldridge. "We're doing more fundraising. At the senior center we're looking new ways to add programs, like day trips is one we've talked about."

In the current economy people pay more attention to whether they're investment is worth the cost.

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"We're constantly looking at the numbers of having to make sure the fees are high enough to pay for the programs but not so high that we're turning people away and we're needing to put more energy into fundraising," Wooldridge said. "I find I have to make decisions more from a business perspective than I've ever had to do before."

Some events might disappear

Events like the Halloween Carnival in and the annual tree lighting will carry on this year, but their future is uncertain.

"It's going to be a much more scaled-down version," Wooldridge said about the tree lighting. "Next year, we don't know."

The tree lighting will lose its tent, which costs $3,000, this year. Instead of high school and elementary students singing and dancing on a stage inside the tent, they may stroll around the park, singing carols. Previously entirely free, the annual Halloween Carnival will not charge admission this year, but it will cost $5 for a pass that will pay for games, face painting, games and balloons. The summer concert and outdoor movies in the park are possible casualties for next year.

"Those are the events where people really make those community connections and why they're so valued by people," Wooldridge said. "Community events is what's really going to struggle. That's sad to me."

After 10 years with the department and six as director, Wooldridge has seen recent new challenges arise.

"When we opened the youth center in August 2001 the city had a healthy reserve, and had the capacity to start new recreation programs that weren't fully self-sufficient. We had the financial capacity and wherewithal to undertake those endeavors and address what the community's needs are and not yet have to worry about fully funding it."

For help, the city is looking to local local businesses, but they're already seeing a lot of other open palms stretched toward them.

"We're already tapping out the business community for sponsorships for all our fundraising events," Wooldridge said. "So to go back to them again to funds for community events you start dipping into the well so many times, it's totally dry in a small community like this. And we're not the only ones. The Chamber (of Commerce), everybody's gone to the businesses."

So, the recreation department has to look internally to make cuts and to ask more of the people who use it's resources.

Senior Center volunteers

The lively , which has more than 175 volunteers, spent $150 in office expenses in last fiscal year. The volunteers stretch nickels into dollars and roll up their sleeves well past the elbow.

"That's two toner cartridges," Wooldridge said of the office expenses. "When I saw that my mind was just boggled. They run the toner until it turns pink and they just think it's a cool color effect."

Many years in the planning, the senior center emerged largely from the work of volunteers and the political will to endorse it. A non-profit foundation and a club have made annual contributions to the city budget with money raised from events, programs and classes. Seeing pending budget cuts, seniors took on a fundraising drive last spring. It created $75,000 in donations in a couple of months.

People stepping up

Supporters of recreation programs and services have come to realize that they not only have to pay higher fees, but they might have to donate time just to maintain the status quo. So far, they have made the stretch, Wooldridge said.

"It's been surprisingly positive," she said about the call to action. "People generally understand, they read the news. They understand that every city is going through a fiscal crisis, the state is going through a fiscal crisis. There was definitely some demoralizing because there were rumors flying around about what would close, what would stay open."

In contrast to longtime senior volunteers, new faces are emerging to raise $33,000 to keep the open next season because city policy makers say they can't afford to fund it.

"We've also had people come out of the woodwork," Wooldridge said. "The swim center fundraising drive is a good example. There's a couple of people that — I've been here 10 years — that are local residents and I hadn't met them before. There have been new people coming out with this, seeing the need, which is great to see."

Parents, who are feeling the squeeze on personal spending choices, have to make decisions on entertainment and participation in programs more carefully.

"We find that mostly what parents want mostly in this recession, what they can afford I suppose, is the core after-school programs," Wooldridge said. "They can't afford as much the extra trips and things like that."

Beyond the money, volunteers can help balance the ledger. While some volunteers work at the senior center 20 hours a week or more, that commitment isn't expected or necessary for everyone, Wooldridge said.

"A lot of people think volunteering takes a lot of time and it doesn't. There are things you can do that are one or two hours a month. I think people forget in our busy lives that it doesn't take much to volunteer. I think we need to do a better in the Pinole rec department of creating volunteer positions for people who need to do a few hours."

This is the first of a series of articles on Pinole Patch about how the economy has raised pressure on volunteers to keep certain local services and programs alive.


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