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Oak Harbor staff to develop scholarships and sponsorships for youth recreation
Summary
Parks staff told the commission they are working to formalize scholarship and sponsorship options for summer programs and youth leagues, aiming to accept sponsorships and offer scholarship signups with the summer activity guide.
City parks and recreation staff told the commission on Jan. 13, 2025 that they are developing a scholarship and sponsorship program to help lower costs for youth programs and to centralize donor support.
Liz, a parks and recreation staff member, said staff hope the scholarship application and sponsorship framework will be ready in time to appear in the department’s summer activity guide and that staff have already received initial offers from potential sponsors.
The department described two possible approaches under discussion: (1) a centralized fund that the city would administer and allocate to programs based on demonstrated need and participation, or (2) a model in which scholarship applicants apply through the city while partner leagues continue to manage registration. Staff asked whether commissioners would like to review draft application language and said they will bring a formal proposal to a future meeting.
Commissioners and volunteers present encouraged staff to consider ways to streamline application and registration so a family applying for scholarship support would not have to complete multiple forms for different leagues. Staff said those questions would be part of the policy design and that they will return with a draft to the commission for input before launching the program for summer registration.
