Jack C. Wilson Active Kids Fund
The active kids fund provides a 50% to 70% discount scholarship for Tacoma families who qualify for free/reduced lunch for sports leagues, memberships, classes, and camps. This program is currently operating over budget due to well-documented needs. Help us make sure that all Tacoma kids have access to healthy opportunities to play, learn and grow!
The Tacoma Parks Foundation (TPF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Metro Parks Tacoma programs and projects that enhance the health and happiness of Tacomans.
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Eastside Community Center
As part of a broad community partnership, the Greater Metro Parks Foundation partnered with Boys & Girls Club of South Puget Sound to raise $3,000,000 in capital for Eastside Community Center, working toward a $7,000,000 endowment to fund ESCC youth programming in perpetuity.
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TACOMA PARKS FOUNDATION MEMORIAL PROGRAM
Our parks, gardens and open spaces are part of what makes living in Tacoma so special. TPF’s Memorial Program is a wonderful philanthropic way to honor a loved one.
Participation in the Memorial Program begins at $6,000. Most donors choose to adopt a park bench with a plaque written in remembrance. Other limited opportunities for plaque placement may occasionally be available.
Memorial Program gifts are tax deductible. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Quinn Bartholomew.
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For more than a century, Metro Parks Tacoma (MPT) has operated as an independent government agency creating healthy opportunities to play, learn and grow. MPT’s facilities and offerings across the city of Tacoma include:
46 playgrounds
2,960 acres
81 trail miles
10 spraygrounds
80 park and recreation facilities
8.2 miles of publicly accessible beach and shoreline
5 community centers and pools
Metro Parks Tacoma is a CAPRA-Accredited organization (2014-present). CAPRA is the only national accreditation of park and recreation agencies in the U.S. and is a valuable measure of an agency’s overall quality of operation, management, and service to the community.
A partner organization to MPT since 1991, the Greater Metro Parks Foundation (GMPF) is an independent 501(c)(3) charitable organization that nurtures community support, volunteerism, and philanthropy to enhance parks and recreation programs run by Metro Parks Tacoma. GMPF is governed by a board of eight community volunteers who bring commitment, talent, resources, and a desire to serve.
Ruston Way Site Furnishings Project:
GMPF is currently raising funds to support the replacement of worn and outdated site furnishings (benches and picnic tables with built-in chairs) along the Ruston Way Waterfront. It is estimated that more than 5 million people visit the Ruston Way Waterfront each year. The more than two-mile urban trail is paved and relatively flat allowing equitable access to a variety of activities at no cost. The path has stunning views of Mt. Rainier and crosses through five city parks. Both Trail Link and All Trails give Ruston Way Waterfront a five-star rating due to its beauty and accessibility.
The current benches and picnic tables are worn out, and while they have been repaired over the years, it is no longer feasible to do so. Many of the site furnishings date back into the 1980’s and have well outlived their expected lifespan.
We are grateful to the Ben B. Cheney Foundation, the Tulalip Tribes Charitable Fund, and the Oscar and Olivann Hokold Foundation for their support of this project.
Athletic and Weight Machine Upgrade Project
This $400,000 project will revitalize Metro Park Tacoma’s three community centers (People’s, Star and Norpoint) with 107 new pieces of athletic and strength equipment along with free weights.
Notice that summer camps at the Tacoma Nature Center are full EXCEPT for those families with financial needs such as children and youth experiencing foster care and homelessness.
Registration is now open for summer Camps throughout Metro Parks Tacoma!
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Parks and recreational programs accessible to all, enhance our quality of life in many ways, providing health, social, physical, and environmental benefits to all who live, work or play in Tacoma.
