PARKS, AFTER SCHOOL, RECREATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICES
MEMORANDUM
DATE: July 11, 2022
TO: GEORGEANNE A. WHITE, City Manager
FROM: AARON A. AGUIRRE, Director
Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services
ALDI E. RAMIREZ, Assistant Director
Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services
SHELBY D. MACNAB, Business Manager
Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services
SUBJECT: AFFIRM READING AND BEYOND IS A UNIQUELY QUALIFIED
SERVICE PROVIDER FOR COMMUNITY SERVICES AT MOSQUEDA COMMUNITY CENTER
The purpose of this Memorandum is to request that the City Manager establish that Reading and Beyond is uniquely qualified to provide services at Mo squeda Community Center (Mosqueda), located at 4670 E . Butler Ave, Fresno, CA 93702 in Southeast Fresno.
Reading and Beyond is a non -profit corporation established in 1999 with a mission to empower children and families to achieve productive, self -reliant lives. Reading and Beyond offers a multigenerational program that works with children and parents together to improve economic security and achieve upward mobility by offering a continuum of evidence-based cradle-to-career services.
Reading and Beyond is a qualified service provider with expertise in community services and a track record of positive impacts in the southeast Fresno Community. A copy of their 2020-2021 Annual Report is attached to this memo to highlight organizational impacts which include reaching 172 unique families with family advocacy services, processing 2,000 referrals to community partners, distributing over 12,200 boxes of food, facilitating rental assistance for 1,500 clients, connecting 3,000+ children to dental services and providing preschool services for 45 youth under age five.
In 2011, Reading and Beyond began operating at Mosqueda under an agreement for Lead Agency Operation of a Community Center. In 2016, a second agreement for Lead Agency Operations was awarded to Reading a nd Beyond. In 2017, the Agreement was DocuSign Envelope ID: 98D7BE8A-A3A4-4C99-95E1-DE36B071A8D7 DocuSign Envelope ID: 647CF96E-29FD-429E-B8B4-2CD31903343D
July 11, 2022
amended. All agreements between the City of Fresno Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services ( PARCS) Department and Reading and Beyond have since expired.
The PARCS Department has evaluated the public benefit of entering into service agreements across several centers , assessing the history of services provided , community need for wrap-around supports as part of pandemic recovery efforts, and PARCS’ future direction at Mosqueda. As part of this evaluatio n, staff recognized that Reading and Beyond has built long standing relationships by providing services that are key to the social, emotional, health and economic wellbeing of south east Fresno residents. Based on this information , PARCS staff recommends the City enter into a Service Agreement to allow Reading and Beyond to continue offering services at Mosqueda while the community recovers from the impacts of the pandemic.
Under the proposed agreement, Reading and Beyond will be responsible for providing services to the communit y which complement the recreational, sports, senior and enrichment programming offered by PARCS. The PARCS Department is currently offering programming alongside the work done by Reading and B eyond. The contract term of three years will act as a transitional period to allow PARCS to increase the Department’s programming at the centers. After the transitional period, PARCS intends to fully reoccupy and operate programming at both locations.
After a decade of services provided at Mos queda, Reading and Beyond has built strong relationships, formed cross-sector collaboratives, earned trust and become attuned to the supports and services desired by the community living in southeast Fresno. For these reasons, staff request the City Manage r find Reading and Beyond uniquely qualified to provide community services at Mosqueda Community Center.
____ Approved _____ Denied
______________________________ ________________
Georgeanne A. White, City Manager Date
Attachment(s)
Reading and Beyond 2020-2021 Annual Report
cc:
TJ Miller, Assistant City Manager
DocuSign Envelope ID: 98D7BE8A-A3A4-4C99-95E1-DE36B071A8D7 DocuSign Envelope ID: 647CF96E-29FD-429E-B8B4-2CD31903343D X
7/21/2022