State of Health and Wellness Pledge

HISTORY
In December 2015, FRPA sent out a survey to Florida agencies throughout the state. This survey served as a tool to gather the information necessary to establish where we, as a state of Park and Recreation departments, stood on the platform of wellness in communities. The survey can be found here: Agency Position Survey on Health Initiatives (file is a download). The results of this survey can be found here: Health Survey Results

The State of Health and Wellness Pledge was the result of months of work alongside the Florida Department of Health and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The FRPA Strategic Plan calls for us to leverage and connect parks and recreation to community health, and this Pledge was an effort to more deeply position our Parks and Recreation Agencies as a solution to Florida’s health and nutrition challenges. Each Parks and Recreation Agency was asked to sign the Pledge to commit to efforts that address the health and nutrition initiatives in their own communities. 

On April 21, 2016, FRPA hosted its Annual Agency Summit, with over 100 Florida park and recreation professionals representing over 60 local parks and recreation agencies. The Summit focused on the importance of health in a community and how park and recreation departments are closely related to it.

“One should not have to look far to see that there are solutions to [the epidemic of obesity]. Parks and Recreation are one of those solutions,” FRPA President and Director of Miami-Dade Parks, Jack Kardys stated. “Second only to the public school system, we care for more children for longer periods of time than any other organization. We are a logical partner in the fight to make Florida a healthier State if not the healthiest State in the country.” In attendance were Florida’s Interim Surgeon General, Dr. Celeste Phillips and the Director of the Division of Food, Nutrition and Wellness at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, Lakeisha Hood. Phillips and Hood were presented with a resolution and copies of the signed pledges from 70 agencies around the state. These 70 agencies serve over 13 million people. 

You are encouraged to download the documents below and use them as a standard checklist for your programs and policies in regards to community health. 

Download the
Health Pledge

Download the Measurement Tool.

The following agencies signed the Health Pledge! These 85 agencies serve over 13.2 million people.

City of Bartow                 City of Belleair                   City of Boca Raton              City of Boynton Beach
City of Brooksville          
Broward County               City of Cape Coral               City of Clearwater
City of Coconut Creek    
Collier County                   Cooper City                           Town of Davie
City of Debary                 City of Deerfield Beach    City of Delray Beach           City of Doral
City of Dunedin               City of Ft. Lauderdale      City of Greenacres              City of Hallandale Beach
City of Hialeah                 Town of Hilliard                Hillsborough County          City of Hollywood
City of Kissimmee           City of Lake Mary             City of Lake Worth              City of Lakeland
City of Largo                    City of Lauderhill               Lee County                           City of Lighthouse Point
Manatee County            City of Margate                  Marion County                    Martin County
City of Miami                  Miami Dade County          City of Miami Beach            Town of Miami Lakes
City of Miami Springs    City of New Port Richey   City of North Lauderdale    City of North Miami
City of Ocala                    City of Oldsmar                 Orange County                     City of Orlando    
Palm Beach County        Town of Palm Beach        Pasco County                         City of Pinecrest                   
City of Plantation           Town of Ponce Inlet          City of Port Orange              City of Port St. Lucie            
City of Safety Harbor     Sarasota County                City of South Daytona          Starkey Ranch                      
City of St. Cloud              City of St. Pete Beach      City of St. Petersburg            City of Tamarac                    
City of Treasure Island   The Villages                      Volusia County                        City of West Palm Beach    
City of Weston                City of Wilton Manors    City of Winter Haven              City of Winter Springs

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If you have any questions please call the FRPA Executive Office at (850) 878-3221 or email Charla Lucas.