Parks and recreation are more than just fun and games in Manteca.
*Some 2,500 youth a year learn to swim and stay safe in the water.
*Youth sports programs — such as tiny tots soccer and flag football, basketball and Junior Giants baseball — each engage 350 to 500 plus kids with the Junior Giants going a step further and teaching nutrition and anti-bullying.
*Hundreds of older people access the senior center daily to strengthen social ties and — in the case of 40 a day— also eat a free lunch, which is sometimes their only hot meal of the day.
*Open gyms Friday and Saturday nights, keep dozens of teens off the streets while working off their energy in pickup games in a safe location.
That’s just a small snapshot of what the Manteca Parks & Recreation does with an overall $1.84 million budget with more than a third — $655,000 — offset by fees that a number of programs charge.
It is in addition to a $550,000 budget providing a drop-in place to socialize and programming at the senior center for several hundred people 50 and over through the day, Monday through Friday.
“It’s about connecting people with people and making sure they are getting wellness and mental health (needs addressed),” said Brandy Clark.
Clark oversees the parks and recreation department that transit services were folded into recently to save money and increase administrative efficiency.
The parks and recreation division has 6 full-time employees, two less than in 2010 when the Great Recession imposed budget cuts and the city had 67,096 residents. Manteca’s population is 97,000 today.
Law enforcement across the country in the 1950s pushed for cities to establish robust recreation programs for youth and young adults as a way to counter mischief and crime.
Organized recreation programs — whether they are guitar lessons, flag football, or senior centers — are designed to enhance physical and mental health.
That was especially true during the COVID pandemic where Manteca — following strict state guidelines — had one of the few recreation departments in the area that offered programming to get people out of their houses.
They also offered, as other cities did, online recreation programs including real-time exercise classes.
Manteca went a step further and had staff doing daily virtual check-ins with seniors.
The department, in any given month, has 150 to 20 teens working part-time to conduct youth sports leagues and other programs.
It is often their first job whether they develop soft skills needed to effectively interactive with people and be a responsible employee.
The city also coordinates with the Manteca Unified School District to offer enrichment programs — such as chess and STEM endeavors — during school breaks.
Almost all programs have fees to help recover costs.
Some, such as the Junior Giants, and free.
There are perhaps 200 to 300 youth that qualify for scholarships due to their family’s financial situations to access programs. That money is raised by a non-profit foundation that supports the city’s recreation endeavors.
The bulk of the workload for the six department employees is running and overseeing the various programs.
The city also does a number of free community events such as Movies in the Park, Trunk & Treat, organized skate events, Music on Maple, Christmas at the Center, Park Palooza and more.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
