Seattle Parks and Recreation is seeking nominations for the Denny Awards, which honors extraordinary volunteer service to the city’s parks and recreation system. The deadline for nominations is Tuesday, October 31, 2017.

The awards will be presented at a recognition ceremony to be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 12, 2017 in the Faye G. Allen Grand Atrium, Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI), 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109.

The Denny Awards acknowledge and honor the crucial role volunteers play in neighborhood parks, community centers and recreation programs throughout Seattle. In 2016, 37,722 people volunteered for Seattle Parks and Recreation, providing 231,675 hours of service, which is a donation valued by Independent Sector for Washington State at $30.04 per hour, meaning volunteers supported SPR with $6,959,517 of service in 2016.

Volunteers are essential in so many aspects of Seattle’s parks and recreation system. From planting trees, staffing the summer food program, or coaching a youth sports team, volunteers make taxpayers dollars go so much farther for our communities.

“Volunteers are one of our most important resources in helping us reach our goals of supporting healthy people, a healthy environment, and strong communities,” said Superintendent Jesús Aguirre. “Our volunteers coach youth sports, help us plant native trees in our parks, serve on various advisory councils and boards, and provide countless other services that allow us to have the first-rate park and recreation system that Seattle loves and depends on.”

The name of the awards reflects the early commitment by the Denny family to the preservation of parkland and open space for public use and enjoyment. David T. and Louisa Denny donated land that became the first Seattle park, Denny Park, in 1884.

We encourage nominations of youth, park stewardship groups, Associated Recreation Council members, individuals, community service, business, or corporate volunteers.

Denny Awards nominees should:

demonstrate exceptional stewardship of parks and/or recreation;

have given a significant commitment of time;

provide stellar leadership by supporting SPR’s goals to extend Race and Social Justice, and support Healthy People, a Healthy Environment, and Strong Communities.

The nomination form for the award is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2017DennyAwards

For additional information, please contact Aretha Alexander, Seattle Parks and Recreation, at 206-684-8028, or aretha.alexander@seattle.gov. A list of past award winners is available here.