Parks are essential for healthy, equitable communities, but across America, 100 million people — including 28 million kids — don't have a park close to home.
There is a common-sense, cost-effective solution to address this park equity gap: Turning existing public schoolyards into vibrant, shared outdoor spaces that benefit the entire community. Transforming these concrete spaces into community parks will bring significant health and educational benefits not just to students, but the communities they serve — but we need your help to make this happen.
Help turn our nation's concrete schoolyards into vibrant parks for kids and communities by urging Congress to prioritize Community Schoolyards™ projects.
American public schools own a combined two million acres of land. While some schools use that land for community purposes, many schoolyards remain closed to the public outside of school hours. Many more are just slabs of concrete used for playgrounds.
ACT NOW: Tell Congress to help transform concrete public schoolyards into vibrant community spaces today!
RE: Turn asphalt schoolyards into vibrant parks
To [Decision Maker],
With the back-to-school season in full swing, I'm writing to urge you to lead the call in Congress to fund Community Schoolyards™ projects today.
Your support would help turn our nation's concrete schoolyards into vibrant parks for kids and nearby communities. Transforming these desolate spaces into community parks will bring significant health and educational benefits not just to students, but the communities they serve - helping to close the park equity gap we see in the U.S. today.
Equitable access to the outdoors is essential for healthy, happy people and communities. But not everyone in America has access to a quality park. In fact,
* 100 million people in America — including 28 million kids — don't have a park close to home.
* In our biggest cities, communities of color have access to 44 percent less park space than majority white communities.
* Communities with less park space are hotter in summer, have worse air quality, and are more susceptible to catastrophic flooding.
* People without parks close to home get less exercise. Lack of access to parks is associated with higher rates of heart disease, stroke, and obesity.
Thankfully, there's a common-sense, cost-effective solution in almost every community: the local schoolyard. If every public schoolyard in America functioned as a shared outdoor space, 20 million more people — kids and adults — would have access to a park within a 10-minute walk of home.
For these reasons, I strongly urge your support for this funding. Together, we can close our nation's park equity gap — one schoolyard transformation at a time.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
