BROWARD COUNTY, FL - Broward County Parks and Recreation Division's neighborhood parks, located in the Broward Municipal Services District (formerly unincorporated Fort Lauderdale), kicked off their 2016 Summer Recreation Program on Monday, June 20th, at five sites: Boulevard Gardens Community Center, Reverend Samuel Delevoe Park, Franklin Park, Roosevelt Gardens Park, and Sunview Park. Starting at 8AM, nearly 700 youth between the ages of 6 and 17 rolled in to these sites, looking forward to making new friends and creating fun summer memories.

For the first week of the program, the days were full of sports, arts and crafts, and much more. Our middle school and high school attendees learned about the dangers of smoking from the American Lung Association and participated in the Alcohol Literacy Challenge, presented by the Hanley Center Foundation.

Younger children took part in the Child Safety Education Program, presented by A Child Is Missing. All 6- and -7-year-old participants also had the opportunity to learn about proper nutrition and exercise and were able to sample healthy foods, as part of our Family Nutrition Program, provided by the Parks Division's Extension Education Section.

Our Teen Program at Sunview Park focuses on fitness through its weekly Pilates classes. Participants also learned about responsible pet ownership and were able to interact with certified therapy dogs through our partnerships with both the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida and Dog Scouts of America.

While at summer camp, all attendees receive free lunches and snacks daily through the Summer Food Service Program. To assist with the supervision of the youth and the implementation of activities for them, we employ youth from CareerSource Broward's Summer Youth Employment Program at each of our sites. We also have summer seasonal staff who come back year after year energized to provide a full range of new activities. Next week we kick off water-safety instruction for those who do now know how to swim, through the Parks Division's SWIM Central Program. We will also begin offering weekly field trips at each site. We are looking forward to a summer full of excitement for our campers.

For further information, call the park of your choice: Boulevard Gardens (954-357-6867), Delevoe (954-357-8801), Franklin (954-357-7080), Roosevelt Gardens (954-357-8700), or Sunview (954-357-6520).