News

Linden Department of Parks and Recreation was presented the Excellence in Visual and Cultural Arts Award for “The Crafting Corner Playground Program” at the New Jersey Recreation and Park Association (NJRPA) Annual Awards Dinner at Summit Family Aquatic Center in Summit, NJ. Ralph Dunhamn (Recreation Director), Angelo Monaco (Day Camp/Playground Coordinator), Valerie Graham (Craft Supervisor), Rooks Crawford (Recreation Leader) and Elected Officials were present on Wednesday, May 19, 2021 to accept this award.  

Challenged with creating Arts and Crafts programming during a socially distant summer, the staff of the Linden Recreation Department, incorporated “The Crafting Corner” into their Virtual Summer Camp program.

Designed to appeal to children between the ages of 5 through 18, this program offered 50 different craft lessons that participants could complete in the safety of their own homes.

Marketed through the weekly newsletter, program information and weekly materials pick up forms were sent through the email feature of Community Pass.  Families were invited to pick up pre- registered “Craft Kits” through contactless delivery at their local recreation center. Linden Recreation Staff created 50 instructional videos that demonstrated how to successfully complete the established crafts.

Eighty seven families picked up the craft kits required to complete the program which cost approximately $5,000 in supplies and staff hours. Families reached out for extra supplies at the end of the program to continue the crafting of their favorite projects.

The positive feedback from those who participated in Crafting Corner prompted the staff to extend the program into the Fall options for Senior Citizens programming.

The purpose of the New Jersey Recreation and Park Association’s Awards Program is to honor and identify dedicated leaders, employees, and volunteers in the field of Parks and Recreation, and to recognize the State’s outstanding Recreation and Park agencies for excellence in programming, publicity and facility design. The goal of the Awards Program is to focus State attention on the achievement of Park and Recreation agencies, to recognize the continuing efforts of staff and volunteers, and to acknowledge support extended by member agencies.

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Come sign up and join Team Linden”!

• Who: Ages 5 – 18
  • All children 5-13 must be accompanied by an adult.
• What: Hooked on Fishing
• When: Saturdays, 10am – 1pm
  • July 17
  • July 31
  • August 14
  • August 28
• Where: McGillvray Pond inside Wilson Park; 1100 Summit Terrace, Linden
• How: Register here online.
  • First time registrants are required to call 908-474-8600 M-F 9am – 4pm to set up an account.
  • Or, register in person at the JTG Center from 9am – 4pm, or the Linden Multi Purpose Center from 9am – 7pm.
• For more information, click here to view and/or download the informational flyer for this event.

Due to inclement weather, the June 8th concert, which would have started at 7:30pm at the Raymond Wood Bauer Promenade, was cancelled.

Linden Department of Parks and Recreation was presented the Agency Showcase Award for Website or Web Feature/Application at the New Jersey Recreation and Park Association (NJRPA) Annual Awards Ceremony at the Summit Family Aquatic Center in Summit, NJ. Ralph Dunhamn (Recreation Director), Angelo Monaco (Day Camp/Playground Coordinator), Branly Cadet (Playground Supervisor), Joshua Weiss were present on May 19 to accept the award.

Faced with the challenge of providing Summer programming bound by COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing protocols, the staff of Linden Recreation responded by creating a Web based Virtual Summer Camp.

Virtual Summer Camp set out to provide a variety of programming opportunities for city residents. Angelo Monaco, Summer Day Camp/Playground Coordinator approved all aspects of the website and edited the embedded Google sheet that contained the weekly schedules and links to all of the instructional YouTube videos that were specific to each activity.

Virtual Camps included live instruction from qualified staff and guest presenters, specialized content and learning resources, after camp challenges to keep campers engaged between sessions, unplugged projects that encouraged children to keep learning away from the computer screen with a variety of dates and times to choose from so that participants could fit a variety of day camp activities into a single week. Programmatic success of the 2020 program has prompted a re-boot of the Virtual Summer Camp website for the upcoming 2021 season, which will include new program offerings.

The purpose of the New Jersey Recreation and Park Association’s Awards Program is to honor and identify dedicated leaders, employees, and volunteers in the field of Parks and Recreation, and to recognize the State’s outstanding Recreation and Park agencies for excellence in programming, publicity, and facility design. The goal of the Awards Program is to focus State attention on the achievement of Park and Recreation agencies, to recognize the continuing efforts of staff and volunteers, and to acknowledge support extended by member agencies.

To view this press release on Union News Daily, please click here.