Akron Parks Challenge

The Akron Bengals Youth Football organization uses the park now for programming and practice for 150+ youth and their families. The park currently has a parking lot and a mowed lawn surrounded by a wooded area. Their vision is to enhance the park with seating, a walking path, a pavilion and a small play space to promote a family atmosphere for both the organization and the neighborhood.

We are currently in the process of engaging the community to inform the core team’s decision-making.
 

The award to Prentiss Park comes on the heels of another victory at APS and TomTod’s 2024 Changemaker Challenge. A team of 8th graders from Innes CLC (which sits adjacent to Prentiss) took first place at this competition in May, receiving $4,000 from Akron Community Foundation to bring their proposed park improvements to life.These students plan to remain involved as they enter High School and continue to work with their teachers and other community members. First Glance, South Street Ministries, Better Kenmore and Councilwoman Tina Boyes were all part of the application to work together, “to reimagine Prentiss Park in a way that leverages Kenmore’s assets and programming partners to make it more of the intergenerational meeting space that Kenmore wants and so desperately needs,” according to their application.

We are currently in the process of engaging the community to inform the core team’s decision-making.

Initiated by a donation from the Pucci family, APC started working with South Street Ministries, Summit County Public Health, the City of Akron and previous Akron Parks Challenge applicant now Ward 5 City Councilman, Johnnie Hannah to piece together funding to improve Morgan Park in South Akron. With a smaller budgeted amount for the Akron Parks Challenge in 2023, funding was allocated to Morgan Park with smaller Micro-grants awarded to other parks.

Located in the University Park neighborhood and adjacent to Leggett Elementary, many partners worked together to expand and recreate this park as an outdoor classroom, nature space and mental health oasis including the City of Akron, Akron Parks Collaborative, Neighborhood Network, a program of Habitat for Humanity of Summit County, Leggett CLC/Akron Public Schools, University of Akron ZipAssist, KGK & Co., and University Park Neighbors.

Additional funding was provided by Dominion Foundation, Kubota, Akron Tractor & Equipment, Summit County Land Bank, Summit County Public Health, The Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation and Kathy Salem

We will be officially cutting the ribbon on September 19

Hyre and Lions Park are both beloved neighborhood parks in the Ellet neighborhood. Several neighbors teamed up with Hyre CLC, the Ellet Community Center and the Ellet Library Branch to dream about needed upgrades to the park that would support neighborhood vibrancy.

Jewett Park is the only park in the Middlebury neighborhood. Located on a dead-end street, it was not well maintained and barely used due to safety issues. Guided by LINKS Community and Family Services with partners Neighborhood Network (a program of Habitat for Humanity of Summit County) and Summit County Public Health, the neighborhood provided input and direction on the design for the park.

In the fall of 2021, a new playground came to life as a KaBOOM! project. The project was led by the Summit County Think Tank Coalition. Through surveys and other community conversations the design for the park reflects the idea heard countless times that the neighborhood wants it to be like it was “back in the day”. Digging deeper, they want a community gathering place that is safe, inclusive and full of laughter and opportunities to talk to and know their neighbors.

The park is on Lods Street in Cascade Village and sits on the Little Cuyahoga River near N. Howard Street. The community team went to the rest of their neighborhood through surveys, door to door conversations and park events to determine the park improvements they want within a $100,000 budget. Final decisions were made by a community leadership team.

This park is part of the Akron Civic Commons between downtown Akron and Summit Lake. Funding from the Challenge went toward a new playground build in 2019 in partnership with KaBOOM! Akron Civic Commons, John S. and James. L. Knight Foundation, and Keurig/Dr. Pepper.