By Jennifer Papich, 2021– 2022 WRPA President

In early 2022, a long list of Washington agencies were awarded funds from the SEEK (Summer Enrichment Experiences for Kids) funds program. This program was hosted in partnership between WRPA, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and in coordination with the Association of Washington Cities (AWC).  Last year, we had so many recipients that applied and a total of $2,523,416 was awarded by the 2021 SEEK Program. 

WRPA is so honored to have been involved in this process. It was just over a year ago that we began the conversations with OSPI and AWC that culminated with this funding opportunity for so many of you.

WRPA’s SEEK Fund was designed to aid in funding summer outdoor programs serving school-aged youth. We focused on providing enhanced and quality outdoor opportunities for those who have been most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and those who are under-served when it comes to quality outdoor recreational access.

In 2021, three organizations worked quickly and diligently to create this program. It is truly remarkable the amount of work, communication, and collaboration that took place to make this a reality.

I want to sincerely thank the following individuals for their tireless work moving this effort forward:

From Association of Washington Cities
   Candice Bock – Director of Government Relations
   Jacob Ewing – Legislative and Policy Analyst

From Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
   Jenny Plaja – Assistant Director of Government Relations

From Washington Recreation and Parks Association
   Tiffany Hanzo Martin – Executive Director
   Doug Levy – Lobbyist
   Paul Simmons – Past President
   Dave Johnson - President-Elect
   Jennifer Wills – Vice President
   Shanyanika McElroy – King County Regional Director & EIB Co-Chair

I also want to recognize and give gratitude to the SEEK Advisory Committee (review panel) of esteemed emeritus WRPA members, who enthusiastically gave their time to evaluate and score the applicants (over the Fourth of July Holiday I might add):

Dr. Barb Brock
Al Frank
Dennis Higashiyama
Terry Higashiyama
Larry Otos

Candice Bock from AWC shared that she loves working with parks and recreation professionals because we have such positive can-do attitudes and we always figure out a way to make things happen. That is so true and speaks to who we all are, especially in the face of the past year’s challenges. I could not be more proud to work with such remarkable individuals.

From the start, WRPA, AWC, and OSPI were committed to ensuring that these funds would be geographically spread throughout the state and granted to a broad cross-section of agencies. For this first round funding cycle, I would say “mission accomplished.”

We were blown away by the response and are honored to CONGRATULATE all of you who applied for this summer and received a total of $10,107,169.42! We look forward to hearing how these dollars positively impact youth in your community.

Thanks again, and congratulations again, to all of you.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Papich

2021–2022 WRPA President