Partnerships
- School Districts and Charter Schools
- Government
- Businesses
- Other Non-Profits
- EarthShare of Texas
- Trust for Public Land
- University of Houston School of Architecture
- Reliant Energy
- H-E-B
School Districts and Charter Schools
SPARK currently works with 16 school districts and 3 charter schools in the Greater Houston area:
- Aldine ISD
- Alief ISD
- Channelview ISD
- Clear Creek ISD
- Crosby ISD
- CyFair ISD
- Fort Bend ISD
- Galena Park ISD
- Goose Creek CISD
- Houston ISD
- Huffman ISD
- Humble ISD
- Katy ISD
- Klein ISD
- Pasadena ISD
- Sheldon ISD
- Spring Branch ISD
- YES Prep
- The Lawson Academy
- Raul Yzaguirre Schools for Success
The school district provides $5,000 for each park and is responsible for overseeing construction of the SPARK Park, as well as maintenance of the park after completion. They have also offered many other valuable services, such as the printing of SPARK’s business materials and calendars, networking, and basic problem solving. Each school selected is given a goal of raising $5,000 for their park. Penny drives, bake sales, school carnivals, candy sales, spaghetti dinner, “buy a brick” drives, rummage sales, and numerous other events are staged to generate the funds. Trees are contributed by Trees for Houston. Classes volunteer to care for trees planted in the parks. Local businesses often help with in-kind contributions, and local architects, landscape architects, and artists are solicited for their professional contributions through the parents, spouses, and teachers at schools.
Government
Since 1986, funding has come from the City of Houston Housing and Community Development Department in the form of Federal Block Grants for schools that qualify by census data. Federal money has also been obtained through Harris County and the City of Pasadena. Houston City Council members have attended SPARK groundbreaking and dedication ceremonies, helped recruit volunteers, and contributed through council district service funds. The Mayor’s office provides office space and related supplies which keep administrative costs to a minimum. SPARK has benefitted from a long time partnership with Harris County Precincts 1, 2, and 4. Commissioners for each of these precincts have provided funds and in-kind contributions for schools in their districts. SPARK has received funds from Management Districts, MUD Districts, and Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZ).
Businesses
Tremendous support has come from the private sector since the SPARK program was founded by City Council Member Eleanor Tinsley in 1983. There are many ways citizens can show support: funding, supplying volunteers for tree planting and landscaping, working on public art projects, helping with fundraising activities, and seeking resources such as design services, landscaping, and artists. Corporate sponsors provide $5,000+ for each park. They participate in groundbreaking and dedication ceremonies, and often provide volunteers. The SPARK program and SPARK schools are deeply indebted to the commitment these sponsors have made to their community. The mutual appreciation and cooperation of the schools, school districts, city and county government, corporate sponsors, and involved citizens are what truly set this program apart.
Other Non-Profits
- Trees for Houston provides native Texas trees, which they plant in and around the park. Classes will often “adopt a tree” and are provided instruction in proper watering techniques.
- Urban Harvest has provided programming and helped to develop garden areas in SPARK Parks. Gardening and nutrition education for youth is vital to cultivating healthy kids and healthy communities.
- Trust for Public Lands compiles the City of Houston’s park score. SPARK works with TPL to provide information for their annual park survey. TPL has previously conducted an audit of all SPARK Parks, compiling statistics on usage and how SPARK might better serve the public. TPL also has created the mapping tool SPARK uses to better understand park locations and surrounding demographic information.
- Houston Arts Alliance provides grants for public art.
- Connect Community provides insight on community needs in the Gulfton area.
- Avenue CDC provides assistance in Houston’s Near Northside and Northline areas.
EarthShare of Texas
SPARK is a member of EarthShare of Texas, a 501(c)3 non-profit federation committed to making environmental support as easy as possible by giving working people the ability to donate through workplace payroll contribution campaigns. Founded by its member charities in 1988, EarthShare is an opportunity for environmentally-conscious employees and workplaces to support hundreds of environmental groups through a charitable giving drive. EarthShare of Texas participates in campaigns at hundreds of public and privates sector workplaces. Workplace giving campaigns in the Houston-Harris County area that support EarthShare of Texas include:
- Public Sector Campaigns
- City of Houston Combined Municipal Campaign
- Houston ISD
- Cy-Fair ISD
- Texas State Employee Charitable Campaign
- Federal Employees—Combined Federal Campaign
- Private Sector Campaigns
Donors may choose to support EarthShare of Texas as a whole, with your contributions divided among the 75+ Texas organizations – or direct their contribution to one specific participating organization. For more information on how your workplace can be involved, contact Kathleen Ownby, 832-393-0911 or Kathleen@sparkpark.org
Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land, a national land conservation and parks nonprofit, was awarded a grant by Houston Endowment and partnered with the SPARK School Park Program to assess the use of approximately 150 SPARK Parks in Harris County. Data collection occurred during the summer and fall of 2014, and included a Park Evaluator (a local college student) who visited each SPARK Park after school hours and on the weekend. Each evaluator observed the schoolyard, counting the number of park users and noting which amenities were present, as well as conducting surveys with park users to learn more about park use and perceptions. The link to an informational handout about the project is found below. If you have any further questions about the tools or methods, please contact Bianca Shulaker at TPL by email (bianca.shulaker@tpl.org) or phone (415-800-5273 or 650-218-1489).
As a result of this report, in 2016 SPARK was awarded a $5.5 million grant to build 30 SPARK Parks over three years in park desert areas of Houston/ Harris County. Twenty-five parks are new parks. Five parks are re-SPARKs – an update of existing parks.
Project Information Sheet – English
Project Information Sheet – Spanish
Final Report – Assessment of SPARK School Park Projects: Finding & Recommendations Report
Slide Show Report – Presented at 2015 Active Living Research Conference, San Diego, California
In 2019, SPARK was awarded another $5.5 million grant to build another 30 SPARK Parks over three years in park desert areas of Houston/Harris/Fort Bend Counties. Fifteen parks are new parks. Fifteen parks are re-SPARKs.
In 2023, SPARK is celebrating 40 years and is continuing to work on addressing park deserts.
SPARK continues to work with Trust for Public Land to improve Houston’s Park Score.
University of Houston School of Architecture
The University of Houston Graduate Design/Build Studio designs and constructs for regional non-profit organizations site specific solutions to climate-influenced building problems. Master of Architecture students are offered the opportunity to see their ideas evolve from initial conception to completed construction. The studio demonstrates the full-scale implications of the students’ aspirations and measures the quality of their design thinking against the rigorous standard of built reality. The Graduate Design/Build Studio has participated in several SPARK parks:
- Alief SPARK Park & Nature Center across from Youngblood Intermediate School
- McReynolds Middle School
- Roberts Elementary School
- Hamilton Middle School
- Paul Revere Middle School
- Lockhart Elementary School
Reliant Energy
Want to help SPARK and offset your carbon footprint at the same time? Reliant and EarthShare of Texas have launched The Reliant EcoShare®, a program that allows Reliant customers to support EarthShare of Texas and its participating organizations and help reduce the customers’ carbon footprints through the purchase of carbon offsets.
Here’s how it works: The Reliant EcoShare® program gives customers the option of two pricing levels:
- For a flat monthly amount of $3.95, a $1 donation is made each month to EarthShare of Texas, and 500 pounds of carbon offsets are purchased.
- Or, for a flat monthly amount of $5.95, a $2 donation is made each month to EarthShare of Texas, and 1,000 pounds of carbon offsets are purchased.
SPARK benefits, because as one of EarthShare of Texas’ participating organizations, a portion of the Reliant donation is shared with us. Carbon offsets for the Reliant EcoShare® program meet approved standards to ensure that they represent real, verifiable reductions in greenhouse gases. For more information, follow this link to the EarthShare of Texas website or go directly to Reliant EcoShare Program.
H-E-B
Every year EarthShare of Texas partners with H-E-B for the April tear-pad campaign. This campaign is driven by H-E-B customers and benefits EarthShare of Texas member organizations, including SPARK.
This year, H-E-B will have the EarthShare of Texas Tear-Pad Campaign from April 14th to May 25th. Whether you shop at the store, online for curbside or delivery, there’s an opportunity to make a donation by adding either $1, $3, or $5 to your bill. The dollars you give go to local environmental organizations who are members of EarthShare of Texas, and SPARK is one! Last year, money raised by this campaign helped fund public artwork at local SPARK Parks. Thank you for your support!
