As part of the Downtown Mansfield, Inc., Friends of the Mansfield Parks (FOMP) has been active in stimulating community involvement in the Mansfield parks.
In an effort to encourage families to attend the Mansfield parks, FOMP created the Fun in the Parks Program. This summer program has provided free classes to individuals of all ages for five summers.
The President of FOMP, Doug Versaw, explained, “We wanted to do more in the summer to get families back in the parks, so we created Fun in the Parks Program.”
FOMP is a nine week program, with classes held Monday-Friday at South Park off of Brinkerhoff Ave. Classes include fitness, yoga, Zumba, ceramics, gardening, drama, magic, martial arts, and stories and crafts.
Versaw said that he and his associates conducted surveys to see what kinds of classes people would be interested in taking. “We wanted the classes to be fun for both kids and adults in the nice setting of the parks.”
Many of the classes that are held are the same ones that have been there since the beginning of the program. Likewise, many of the instructors are the same instructors who have been there since the beginning.
Volunteer with FOMP, Suzy Beeson, said, “We’ve been so lucky and have had great instructors who volunteer their time. We’re hoping to find volunteers who may be interested in adopting a park.”
To find out how you would like to become a volunteer in FOMP, call 419-522-0099.
Or, to view a schedule of the Fun in the Parks Program, check out the Richland Source events calendar.
We wanted to do more in the summer to get families back in the parks, so we created Fun in the Parks Program.
