Right now, I am sitting outside. This isn’t something I normally do while writing, but given this year’s Park and Recreation Month theme, it seemed appropriate. Park and Recreation Month officially starts in less than a month, and this July, we’re looking for everyone to encourage their communities to go OUTside, get INspired, change their OUTlook and get INvolved with community parks and recreation.

This year’s theme, crowdsourced and voted on by NRPA members, encourages community members and park and recreation professionals alike to do something outside every day that would normally be done inside. Whether that’s eating a meal, hosting a meeting, taking an exercise class or writing something for work, we bet you can find one thing you can take outside every day in July.

For park and recreation agencies, Park and Recreation Month is the perfect time to show the impact you make in your communities. Challenge your communities to go OUTside and INto your park and recreation areas throughout July and then demonstrate the importance of your work. Do your health and wellness programs help reduce obesity? Do your community gardens bring people together and feed the underserved? Do your green spaces help improve the environment? If the answer is yes, brag about it — especially to community leaders. If you’re not sure, consider Park and Recreation Month a great time to start tracking your initiatives or get involved in NRPA programs that can help you, such as 10 Million Kids Outdoors and Commit to Health. 

Here are some ideas for engaging your community this year during Park and Recreation Month:

• Host an OUT is IN event. Bring back some retro outdoor games and take lots of pictures. Brand your event materials with the “OUT is IN” theme.
• Have your local government officially declare July 2014 as Park and Recreation Month and invite local leaders to your events. The template proclamation can help.
• Encourage your community to participate in our #JulyOUTisIN Social Media Challenge every day this July (you can participate too!). There will be great prizes!
• Use Park and Recreation Month as a time to contact media outlets about the impact you make in the community. Use some of the template press materials to help in your outreach. 
• Share information about Park and Recreation Month on your social media channels using #JulyOUTis IN.
• Hang up the official Park and Recreation Month poster where everyone can see it. You received a copy in your May Parks & Recreation Magazine, but you can print more from the materials online. 

You can find resources for all these ideas on our website. Don’t forget to share your great events and observances with us — we’re always impressed with how you take the theme and make it your own every year. Share with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Sitting outside to write this article has been great, and I don’t really want to go back inside. Thankfully, we have the entire month of July — 31 days — to find an excuse to get outside every day! 

Roxanne Sutton is NRPA’s Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist.