Kalamazoo Friends of Recreation

Mission: We support the Kalamazoo community through equitable access to youth development initiatives which promote safe recreation opportunities.

Vision: Building a community of active, passionate, and responsible young citizens.

History: Kalamazoo Friends of Recreation (KFOR) was first established in 1996 and reorganized in 2014 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit agency with the stated purpose to “create, build, maintain, operate, preserve, improve and promote public parks, and public recreational facilities, all within the City of Kalamazoo; and to raise funds, and receive and mange contributions, donations, gifts, and grants to be used to accomplish said purposes.” KFOR works closely with the Kzoo Parks & Recreation Department to advance both youth and family participation in summer camps, after school camps, and clinics, as well as usage of all City Park facilities. We promote the camp and parks usage through financial assistance and through community-wide exposure, collaboration with other nonprofits, and education.

We provide financial assistance for attending Kalamazoo Parks and Recreation youth programs as well as funding our park improvement project which supports improvement projects in Kalamazoo’s city parks.