National Recreation and Park Association

Program Overview and Background

Park and recreation agencies are one of the largest providers of youth development services nationwide. One of the greatest roles that parks and recreation play in supporting youth development is by offering youth mentoring opportunities. As a leading provider of childcare and out-of-school time (OST) programming, more than four in five park and recreation agencies offer out-of-school time programs, ensuring that youth receive needed services like academic support, mentoring, healthy meals and snacks, cultural enrichment, and opportunities to spend time in nature, play sports and enjoy unstructured play with peers. Park and recreation professionals know that mentoring through parks and recreation provides a pathway for youth to build positive social connections, receive needed academic and emotional support, explore career opportunities, connect with the community and the outdoors, instill other mental health benefits, and develop leadership capabilities, self-confidence, and decision-making skills.

NRPA has created and released the Youth Mentoring (YM) Framework to help local park and recreation agencies craft unique, individualized mentoring programs. It is designed to help agencies leverage local park and recreation assets that build protective factors around at-risk youth while forming strong social connections and positive relationships to address trauma, adversity, and other challenges that youth experience. Through Mentoring in Parks and Rec, NRPA supports agencies in building effective and evidence-based mentorship programs that connect youth with caring and compassionate mentors while strengthening connections across the community.

Program Services

• Group activities
• Referral to other services
• Counseling
• Academic support
• Leadership development

Target Population

We aim to provide mentoring under this grant to young people with any one or more of the following:

• Single Parent Household
• Academic Challenges
• Facing Discrimination based on Race or Ethnicity
• Substance Misuse or Impact
• LGBTQ+ youth
• Youth Living in Low Income

Mentor Recruitment and Training

• 7,000 youth served under this grant
• 1,200 mentors recruited under this grant
• 1,000 one-to-one matches
• For mentor recruitment, we target College Students, Adult Volunteers, and Athletic Coaches
• Duration of program services: 12 months
• Expected intensity of match contact: 1 hour
• Expected length of a match: 12 months
• Expected frequency of match contact: 2 times per month
• Number of training hours required before a mentor is matched with a youth: 6+ hours