Chicago Park District News Release

Chicago Park District

541 N. Fairbanks Ct., 7

th

Floor

312/742.4786(ph), 312/742.5391(f)

www.chicagoparkdistrict.com

News Release

For Immediate Release: Contact: Marta Juaniza, 312-742-4798

March 10, 2010 Jessica Maxey-Faulkner, 312-742-4786

PARKWAYS FOUNDATION PROVIDES OVER $200,000 FOR

CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT DAY CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS

Parents Can Confirm Eligibility March 18 & 20 at 9 Citywide Locations

Thanks to a grant of over $200,000 from Parkways Foundation, the nonprofit arm

of the Chicago Park District, eligible Chicago families will receive scholarships for

the popular summer day camp program. The grant will allow the Chicago Park

District to subsidize eligible children at a rate of 50% or 75% of the cost to attend

the six-week long session.

“Few of us remain unaffected by this difficult economy,” said Chicago Park

District General Superintendent and CEO Tim Mitchell. “As a result, many families

must eliminate the expense of summer programs in order to afford their basic

needs. This scholarship will help eligible families participate in day camp at a

fraction of the cost.”

To apply for a scholarship, families must show proof of participation in the federal

free or reduced-lunch program. Families who do not participate in the federal

lunch program can submit their most recent federal 1040 tax form and copies of

their pay stubs for the last 30 days, or their AFDC/TANF case number, as proof of

income. The information submitted is confidential and may not be a matter of

the public record of the Chicago Park District.

Scholarship awards are only available to City of Chicago residents. Applicants

must have current proof of residency such as a driver’s license, state

identification card, Medicaid card, rental lease, mortgage statement or utility

bill.

On

Thursday, March 18 from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Saturday, March 20 from 9 a.m.

– 12 p.m.,

parents can submit required paperwork to see if they qualify at

designated “scholarship processing centers” at nine citywide parks. Applicants

must bring copies of documents listed above to one of the following processing

sites:

Fosco Park

1312 S. Racine Ave.

312.746.5086

Columbus Park

500 S. Central Ave.

773.287.7641

McKinley Park

2210 W. Pershing Rd.

312.747.6527

White (Willye B.) Park

1610 W. Howard St.

773.262.5051

Mozart Park

2036 N. Avers St.

312.742.7535

Portage Park

4100 N. Long Ave.

773.685.7235

Marquette Park

6734 S. Kedzie Ave.

312.747.6469

Washington Park

5531 S. Martin Luther King Dr.

773.256.1248

Tuley Park

501 E. 90th Pl.

312.747.6763

If approved, parents can apply their scholarship at any Chicago Park District day

camp location pending availability.

Scholarship award approval does not

guarantee a slot(s) in the day camp programs applicants specify on their

scholarship form.

The applicant is responsible for registering in-person at the related park(s) for the

programs. In-person registration begins on Saturday, April 24 at most parks. To

receive the scholarship award, the applicant’s copy of the approved scholarship

form must be presented to the park(s) when registering. Scholarship award

usage is only available for in-person registration. It is not available for on-line

registration.

Deferred scholarship awards are limited and subject to availability, without

regard to race, color, nationality, religion, gender, age, or disability

.

Patrons that do not qualify for the scholarship program can participate in the

“payment plan” option that is only offered when registering in-person.

It is not

available for on-line registration.

•

A minimum of 50% of all camp fees are due at the time of registration.

Inperson

registration begins at the parks Saturday, April 24.

•

The final balance due must be paid in full by June 14, 2010.

•

A 15% charge will be applied to all refund requests. Refunds will not be issued

once camps have started.

For more information, call the scholarship information line at 312.742.5734.

Parents can start planning for summer by viewing summer day camp and

program offerings beginning Monday, April 5 on-line. Each summer, the

Chicago Park District provides more than 30,000 campers ages 6-12 with a

season of supervised activity at more than 200 local parks. Standard day camps

are six-week sessions running June 28 – Aug. 6.

ABOUT THE CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT

For more information about the Chicago Park District’s more than 7,600 acres of

parkland, 570 parks, 26 miles of lakefront, 10 museums, two world-class conservatories, 16

historic lagoons, nearly 50 natural areas, thousands of special events, sports and

entertaining programs, please visit

www.chicagoparkdistrict.com

or contact the

Chicago Park District at 312/742.PLAY or 312/747.2001 (TTY).

ABOUT PARKWAYS FOUNDATION

Parkways Foundation invests in Chicago’s parks to enrich communities through historic

preservation, environmental initiatives, capital projects and youth/family programs.

Parkways is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to working with the

Chicago Park District in a true public/private partnership.