City’s Park and Play van brings recreation to local neighborhoods

A rusted swing set without its swings stands unused at the Gable Oaks apartments while children resort to other options for recreation. 

This is the reality for lots of children in the Columbia area.

To help, the city is launching a fresh solution to bring a variety of activities to communities that don’t have easy access to parks. A mobile van will take games, sports equipment and arts and crafts once a week. 

“We try to meet the needs of the different types of kids that may be out there,” said Kenya Bryant, interim director of the Parks and Recreation Department. “You may have some athletic ones. Have some artists out there. You may just have some that are just just going to have fun.”

The van will stop initially at Gable Oaks, The Oaks at Saint Anna’s and the Colony apartments during after-school hours. It will go to each neighborhood once a week for 90 minutes to two hours, offering corn hole, hula hoops, badminton, parachutes for group exercises and balls for soccer, basketball and kickball.

The city plans to expand to additional neighborhoods in the future.

“Part of the plan, too, is to work with the Columbia Housing Authority – because they’re in charge of those different communities that don’t have access to our parks – and identify more communities,” Bryant said. “So it’s probably about 13 or 14 more that we’ll look at.” 

The program is part of a larger effort to improve these communities.

“The Housing Authority … invests money for these properties to give everybody opportunities to flourish and have a nice and safe place to live,” said James Jackson, resident service coordinator at The Oaks at Saint Anna’s. “Parks and Recs is adding to that, to connect with the kids.”

 A main goal of bringing recreation to these communities is to teach children life skills and give them a break from daily challenges. 

“It teaches you leadership,” Bryant said. “It teaches you teamwork. You know, how to persevere, just do a lot of things that can help you in life, later on and right now.”

Gable Oaks’ property manager, Charlette Hancock, said the van will not only benefit children but also create connections among families in the community. 

“It’s going to bring other kids closer together who don’t know each other,” Hancock said. “It’s hard for the parents to come out. … We’re hoping that they will come out because it gives them the opportunity to meet other parents.”

Parents at The Oaks at Saint Anna’s are eagerly anticipating visits from the van, hopeful that it will become a favorite after-school activity for their children. 

“I could see my son enjoying playing at the van,” said Amber Anderson, a neighborhood parent.

The van cost nearly $50,000 to purchase, improve and fill with items. It was bought with money from the city’s general operation fund. 

Parks and Recreation staff will operate the van, balancing this responsibility with their other duties. Limited staffing is one reason the van can’t visit neighborhoods more frequently.

“We can’t go out every day, but we are going to have to be very strategic about how we roll the van out,” Bryant said. “As far as another van, we’ll just have to see how this one goes.”

It’s hoped that the van will make a lasting impact on Columbia’s community.

“We just want to be a small part of the overall effort to reach our kids, you know, to give them alternatives, to give them something, something else to do,” Bryant said.