Funding helps more kids enjoy park's programs

FRANK NELSON, NEWS-PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Elings Park Foundation employees Josh Chan and Ryan Harrington, center, have helped secure camp scholarships for kids. MIKE ELIASON/NEWS-PRESS

August 25, 2006 12:00 AM

The nonprofit Elings Park Foundation, which requires an annual operating budget of $1.2 million to maintain its 236 acres of sports facilities and open space, has tapped into a win-win funding stream that's good for the park -- and great for many of its young users.

By involving other nonprofits and youth groups, foundation employees Ryan Harrington and Josh Chan have expanded the idea of harvesting grants and donations to provide scholarships for children attending summer camp and the park's after-school programs.

Mr. Harrington, the recreation programs and facilities manager at the Santa Barbara park, says this year's goal for the Park Angels Fund is $60,000, which he expects to help between 250 and 300 youngsters. So far, half that amount has been raised.

He says the beauty of the scholarship program is that the park also benefits from payment of user fees, which pump additional funds into its general operating account. "It helps sustain the park," he says.

The park's income, which also goes to support about a dozen full-time staff, comes from a variety of sources, including fees for programs and rents paid by sporting and recreational groups that use the facilities.

The park is home to baseball, softball and soccer fields, a BMX track and mountain bike course, hiking trails, paragliding and hang gliding; there are also picnic facilities and landscaped areas for large social gatherings. Bounded on two sides by Las Positas Roadand Cliff Drive, Elings Park is also popular for walking and training dogs. It is the venue for numerous special events such as movie nights and car shows.

Mr. Chan, the park's gifts and grants manager, says the great response to the scholarship program is largely due to contributions from half a dozen local foundations and donors, including the Santa Barbara Foundation, petroleum exploration company Venoco and George Bliss, a park founder.

During the summer, about 1,000 children -- most between ages 5 and 12 have been attending weeklong summer camp programs and enjoying everything from baseball, soccer and mountain biking to theater, art and nature study.

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