January 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 54

Regional Profile

Western DuPage
Special Recreation Association
Director: Jane
Hodgkinson
Year founded: 1976
Number of people
served through programs: 13,000
Number of citizen
volunteers in supporting friends
groups: 3,500
Primary focus: Special and therapeutic recreation
programming for
those with physical, mental, and
developmental
disabilities
Funding: 80 percent local taxes
paid to its park
districts which
turn over monies to WDSRA
for operations; 15
percent from revenues; 5 percent
from fundraising
and other sources

52 Parks & Recreation

Western DuPage Special Recreation Association

Volunteers " Woven into the Fabric "
" It's a great success story, " Jane Hodgkinson begins when asked to relate the history of the
partnership between the agency she heads, Illinois's Western DuPage Special Recreation Association (WDSRA), and its corps of volunteers. Like
most special recreation programs, Hodgkinson's
organization benefits from a particularly passionate group of volunteers: the families of its physically and mentally handicapped participants. Formed
in 1976, WDSRA is a cooperative extension serving
13,000 people in nine western Chicago suburbs-
and, despite being spread across so many communities, it has always enjoyed rock-solid support
from its friends groups. " Within a park district, "
Hodgkinson explains, " residents come in and
out-and so, of course, the volunteers do, too. Special recreation association participants come when
they're young, and they often stay into their adult
years. The families who volunteer stick around because of the nature of the program. "
And the citizen supporters of WDSRA do much
more than just stick around. Because of the challenges of parenting a special needs child, parents and other family members have looked to the
group as a comprehensive support network. Parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts are involved at every level and come out on a daily basis
because they see the impact special recreation has
on the lives of their loved ones. " They're integral, "
says Hodgkinson, " organic to the organization and

JANUARY 2011

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woven into its fabric. "
When WDSRA's programming was threatened
by a piece of state tax legislation in 2003, its friends
looked to the organization for direction. " Every orchestra has a conductor, " Hodgkinson says. " If we
hadn't provided leadership, then things would not
have happened. "
Hodgkinson's work on that issue evolved into a
practicum in effective advocacy for the friends of
WDSRA. " We first engaged in a strategy-construction design year, " Hodgkinson recalls. The group
worked with its volunteers to form a plan for reaching
out to state senators and representatives. At the end
of 2003, WDSRA developed an aggressive marketing
effort and enlisted the volunteers in a letter-writing
campaign. " It wasn't just talking points, " she says.
" We gave them elevator speeches, we coached them
in laying out the most compelling case, and we drew
on careful research and statistics....We gave them
the tools to shape their arguments. "
The friends' campaign was successful, and
proposed legislation that would have devastated
WDSRA's programming was finally defeated. Furthermore, the bonds that were forged in that all-out
legislative effort brought about an even greater sense
of ownership and commitment among the families
who formed the volunteer base. " The success energized their fundraising efforts and boosted scholarship help. And some who helped us legislatively are
now helping financially, " Hodgkinson says.
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January 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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