When you talk about a great summer adventure, don’t forget our municipalities’ programs. Everything you need for a great time is in the heart of our community!
Parks and recreation experts are the glue that helps our summer opportunities. They plan and organize exciting activities for people of all ages as a way for those in the community to stay engaged, feel supported, and connect with one another. For Media’s Recreation Coordinator, Jenn Metzger, building community has always been a part of who she is.
Metzger has spent much of her time volunteering locally and is a big advocate for mental health awareness. She even started a non-profit with the focus of bringing mental health first aid to different communities. “When I saw the Media Borough Recreation job opening, it felt like a natural progression which would allow me to blend my love for community-building with my professional skillsets — right in my hometown.”
Since becoming a resident in 1996, Jenn fell in love with the Media Borough as soon as she attended her first 4th of July Celebration at Barrall Field. She remembers spending it with her family, including her oldest child who was only 8 months old at the time. It is this type of feeling that Metzger wants to give back to her hometown.
Providing regular access to welcoming, friendly spaces while having events and programs for people to look forward to is paramount in keeping a tightly-knit community. “Recreation fosters hometown pride, reputation, goodwill, and care,” says Metzger. “Whether it’s working on bringing people together for opportunities to play, work out, or revel in a holiday… I’m always encouraged that whatever detail I’m working on, its end result is something positive for others.”
Within the previous three years of work, Metzger shares that there is much to be proud of. She has created new additions for long-standing traditions. She’s added live music, food trucks, yard games, and a photo station to the July 4th Morning Celebrations as well as eco-friendly eggs to our egg hunts. She’s also added more monthly programs such as Senior Dine Around, Maker Night, and Game Night. Her special events consist of the Eagles Championship Parade, Media’s 175th Birthday, and the Media Little League World Series Bus trips & Pep Rally.
Knowing that she can’t do it alone, Metzger does give a big thanks to the Media Recreation Board. “Our collaboration and their willingness to volunteer time and talent at monthly Board meetings and throughout events makes our very full calendar possible. They are awesome.”
She also gives a big shout out to the Event Crew, which is made up of residents and non-residents who volunteer at specific events. Metzger urges anyone who feels inspired to get in touch with their local Recreation Group, “As individuals, we tend to be closed off or only concerned with our immediate bubble. When more people get involved to help, teach, and learn from one another, we see our lives enriched and abundant. We see positivity throughout each and every home.”
Dustin Schreiber, Parks and Recreations Director in Upper Providence Township, is grateful for the positives of Parks and Recreation. “Recreation oftentimes is a very positive interaction with government that people have - and there's unfortunately not many interactions with government that you're going in with a positive attitude,” he explains. “Going into a Parks and Recreation department, you get people involved in local government in a positive way. It's the same reasons you run a community day. The positivity around that allows you to do community outreach.”
“We can, as a municipality, affect families by offering camps and offering these sporting activities,” says Schreiber. “Those children are going to remember that. Those parents are going to remember that; we're filling gaps that are needed in our community for those sporting camps, outdoors camps and other activities.”
Dustin, who received his degree in public administration with the goal of working in local government, understands this wholeheartedly. While he has only been at this newly created position in Upper Providence for about a month, Schreiber is excited that they’ve done so much in that time.
“We are what I like to call currently a contracts department. So, we contract out for summer camps and for smaller events,” he says. They have a sports contractor that is in charge of sporting camps, a fishing camp for summer, and even a “Mad Science” camp. For right now, they have many one-off activities that they are working into a consistent schedule.
Dustin also says that in gauging what types of programs people are interested in, they are looking into programs that they can find instructors for. “I don't know how to do yoga,” he gives as an example. “So, I need an instructor to do that, but I do know that there are a lot of instructors out there.” And not all programs need an instructor. Some just require a few volunteers. He says that is part of the job of Parks and Rec Director, to assess what is needed and to procure it.
Both Metzger and Schreiber ‘s goal is the same: to pull more people into community to adequately serve them. And they understand hobbies. Metzger is a mosaic artist; she reimagines pieces of broken glass and tile into something new and beautiful.
“Some of my favorite pieces to work on are garden art & bistro tables,” says Metzger. "Recently, I had a small mosaic included in a visiting exhibit at the Corning Glass Museum in New York!”
For Schreiber, it’s curling. At first, it was just a weird sport that seemed fun to try. After his first experience, he kept going back to it. “It works the brain as well as physical. Curling is a lot of thinking. The curling community likes to call it chess on ice,” he says. “I prefer to call it physical activity that requires a lot of strategy.”
There are some amazing events happening for the month of August: In Media, there will be a movie night held on the Borough Hall Lawn on August first. On the 13th, game night will be hosted at the Parlor (Mansion) Room. Check mediaborough.com for more information and more activities. In Upper Providence, activities such as the Open Gym happen a few times throughout August, as does the Hooks and Needles Club. For more information, check upperprovidence.org. Schreiber states that suggestions are welcome. Dustin wants the community to know that he’s accessible, and for residents and event fans to feel comfortable sharing their ideas.