09/07/1994 Park Board Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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+6129498390 CITY EDEN PRAIRIE 664 PO4 AUG 22 194 13:05 1976: Lorinda Pearson was brought in, on a part-time basis, to the Office of Special Services in Bloomington to develop a broad scope of segregated recreation programs for the summer. In the fall, parents wanted the recreation programs to continue on a year- round basis. The recreation programs continued to be under the OSS Department until 1979 when the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department took responsibility for them. "`Lorinda Pearson and Lil Hipp initiated co-planning of programs between Bloomington and Richfield, with Betty Hansen entering in the co-planning at a later date. The co-planning of programs occurred after noticing that both communities were putting out separate brochures, and were duplicating programs while residents in each city were able to access the other city's programs. Together, Richfield and Bloomington combined resources, staff, programs, and developed one brochure. **Eden Prairie Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources, and a group of parents Initiated Adaptive Recreation Programs, but were discontinued due to a lack of resident participation. "The Richfield Community Center Building officially opened. 1979: The Office of Special Services in Bloomington opened up a full-time coordinator position. Lorinda Pearson moved from Bloomington Adaptive Recreation to the OSS Coordinator position. Deb Backstrom was hired to work full-time for Bloomington Adaptive Recreation. 1980: The Learning Exchange joined South Suburban Adaptive Recreation. 1983. Residents in Richfield and Bloomington contacted the Office of Special Services to request recreation services for adults in the communities who have mental illnesses. Richfield and Bloomington began running drop-in programs one day a week. This service was later called Charaka, named after a doctor in India who tried to get recreation programs started in hospitals. 1984. Edina Special Children's Groups discontinued due to parental "burn-out" and lack of funding from the City. Parents began advocating to the City of Edina to provide recreation opportunities for people in their community who have disabilities. 1987: A four-city advisory committee was created with representatives from recreation, community education, the Office of Special Services, and agencies/consumers. This committee evaluated all the existing programs and the needs of the residents in Edina, r-. Eden Prairie, Richfield, and Bloomington for adaptive programs.