After a first year that benefited more than 350 children at 10 area parks, the Rec ‘N Roll program is expanding.
It’ll do so with the help of attorney Steve Pajcic, who presented Mayor Alvin Brown with a $50,000 check Thursday to help grow the eight-week Summer Urban Parks Initiative.
The announcement was made at J. Gardner Nip Sams Park, which Pajcic said was like Woodstock Park — a second home to him as a kid. A place he could feel safe, have fun and not have to worry about crime.
“It seems today we don’t honor our children enough by giving them this kind of opportunity and I want to change that,” he said.
The park is one of seven in the program inside or near the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office “Operation Ceasefire” effort.
Last year, 10 parks benefited from adult supervision, Summer Jobs Program interns and mobile recreation truck.
This year, it will be in 18 parks from June 15-Aug. 7.
Brown also announced Thursday commitments he’s received from national organizations and the U.S. Department of Justice. Specifically, the department invited Jacksonville to a summit hosted on youth violence prevention, which was attended by two city employees this week.
The department has pledged to assign experts to work with Jacksonville, Brown said in a news release. It will do so through its National Gang Center, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and Center for Faith-based and Community Initiatives.