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About SPARC
SPARC is a FREE Parks and Recreation program designed to provide Concord youth ages 6-18 with a safe space on winter weekends to learn, grow, and strengthen community bonds through unstructured play at the City Wide Community Center in Concord, NH.
SPARC was initiated and developed with the goal of fostering belonging and connection, especially for youth in our community who face racism and other barriers to inclusion. By offering a welcoming environment where all children can come together, SPARC seeks to celebrate diversity, build unity, and create lasting friendships.
The program offers pick-up indoor soccer, basketball, arts & crafts, games, toys, and more! SPARC 2025 will run from January 4th through March 30th, 2025 (program details below). The official Parks and Recreation SPARC 2025 webpage is here. Please join our mailing list for updates and upcoming events related to SPARC!
ELIGIBILITY:
Concord/Penacook Residents
Children 9 years and under must be accompanied by a parent/guardian age 16+​​
SCHEDULE:
January 4 - March 30, 2025
Saturdays & Sundays - 2-5:30pm
Two time slots:
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COMMUNITY SPARC: 2-4pm - Families and kids all ages (children under 10 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian age 16+)
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TWEEN/TEEN SPARC: 4:15-5:30pm (ages 10-15)​​​
LOCATION:
City Wide Community Center (next to Keach Park)
14 Canterbury Road
Concord, NH 03301​
COST:
The SPARC program is
FREE!
SPARC 2025
SPARC
(Families and kids all ages)
Saturdays & Sundays
2-4pm
City Wide Community Center
Cost is Free!
Community SPARC time is open to youth of all ages however children under 10 years old must be supervised by a parent, mentor or guardian who is at least 16 years old. Adults can bring up to 6 kids per session. Sign in at the front desk and come join the fun!
Teen SPARC
(ages 10-15)
Saturdays & Sundays
4:15-5:30pm
City Wide Community Center
Cost is Free!
A new offering this year is Tween/Teen SPARC. Youth ages 10-15 can come hang out and enjoy activities tailored to tweens and teens. Teen time is from 4:15-5:30pm on both Saturday and Sundays throughout the program. There is a max capacity of 60 youth and each session is first-come/first-served. We encourage youth to plan ahead & get here early to secure a spot!
Building Community Through Play!
What Kids & Parents are Saying
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SPARC BACKGROUND
September 16th, 2023
Community members participated in the CommUNITY Listening session hosted by Project STORY (Concord’s local organization dedicated to empowering youth from diverse backgrounds). The purpose of the event was to hear from young people from diverse backgrounds about their experience in the Concord community and to explore ideas to promote inclusion and belonging. Solutions discussed included community members coming together to strengthen bonds through art and play.
October 20th, 2023
Several community members looking to turn the listening session discussion into actionable initiatives drafted and submitted the CommUNITY proposal to the City of Concord. The program was directed to the Community Event Fund for consideration.
November 9th 2023
Several of the community members involved in the CommUNITY Proposal met and officially formed the group "Friends of Keach Park" with the objective of working to lower barriers at the City Wide Community Center for historically marginalized communities and to foster a sense of belonging for all.
December 21st, 2023
Friends of Keach Park met with the CommUNITY Events Committee to make minor revisions to the proposal.
January 2024
The CommUNITY Proposal was approved and $16,400 was allocated to Parks and Recreation from the Community Events Fund.
​January-February 2024
Parks and Recreation Director David Gill in collaboration with Friends of Keach Park leaders worked quickly to develop the "CommUNITY Activities Program (CAP)" for the February 24th, 2024 launch. Several CAP volunteer training sessions were held. 15 adult volunteers recruited and trained. Developing the program in time for the February launch was described as "building the plane while flying it"!
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February - April 2024
Forty youth showed up to participate on the first weekend. Preregistrations for the "unsupervised" section of the program quickly reached the 30 participant max (based on the staff-to-participant ratio of 1-to-15) with a growing waitlist for unsupervised registration. Multiple issues arose regarding policies, best practices, volunteering in an unstructured play environment, supplies, and capacity. The FKP leadership team worked with Parks and Recreation to advocate for improvements and to resolve policy issues. FKP Leadership team advocated for increased unsupervised participant capacity for year two, less reliance on volunteers to ensure sustainability, and the program to become a fully staffed, permanent fixture at Parks and Recreation.
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April 2024
FKP Stakeholder meeting. Discussed community building and improvements to the CommUNITY Activities Program.
June 2024
FKP met with Parks & Recreation and discussed year two program 2024-2025 changing the unsupervised section to a first-come/first-serve, drop-in model to increase the program capacity.
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July 11th, 2024
FKP decided to shift all focus on the CommUNITY Activities Program and discussed renaming "CAP" since it is already an overused name/acronym in Concord.
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July 27, 2024
Based on a Friends of Keach Park Facebook poll, feedback from community members, and agreement from Parks and Recreation the CAP program was renamed SPARC (Sports, Play, Arts, Recreation & CommUNITY Club). FKP participated in Friends-a-Palooza!​
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August 27th, 2024
Meeting with City Manager Tom Aspell to discuss collaboration.
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September 4th, 2024
Friends of Keach Park voted to rename the group to "Friends of SPARC".
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October City Council Meeting 2024
City Council approves $20,000 from city budget to fund SPARC year two.
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Fall 2024
Friends of SPARC and Parks and Recreation held multiple meetings to work out best way forward for SPARC year two. Outcomes of these meetings and negotiations can be reviewed here. We will be tracking data on the changes to ensure successful outcomes.
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January 4th 2025 - March 30th 2025
SPARC, year two, is slated to begin on January 4th 2025. The official Parks and Recreation SPARC 2025 webpage is here.
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December 17th, 2024 5pm
First SPARC 2025 Volunteer Training session at the City Wide Communtiy Center. Details here.​​