Ivanhoe Community Park

Harris Park provides a supervised and structured environment for empowering youth to develop self-esteem, basic life skills, respect for the rights of others and property, all through sport, fitness, cultural, and educational programming.  Initially focusing on youth and sport, HP will be able to draw in the parents, siblings, grandparents, relatives, and friends of the young people. HP will then offer specific programming to address the needs and interests of Ivanhoe adults/neighbors. HP intends to have a significant, positive impact on improving the lives and aspirations for all the citizens of the Ivanhoe Neighborhood.

HP has developed offerings to adhere to objectives as set out by the article “Urban Parks as Partners in Youth Development” by Margery Austin Turner, in The Urban Institute/Wallace Foundation Brief, The Urban Institute Beyond Recreation – A Broader View of Urban Parks.

The article concludes that “to realize their full potential as community resources for youth development, community parks can and should go beyond recreation.”

By initially meeting the developmental needs of Ivanhoe youth, we believe that we will establish a solid foundation to extend our services and to impact to the broader Ivanhoe adult community. HP will provide the following personal development opportunities for the Ivanhoe Youth.

Our Vision

Harris Park will improve the lives and aspirations of the citizens in Kansas City’s Ivanhoe Neighborhood and its environs.

Our Mission

To provide a structured environment that empowers the community to develop basic life skills, self-esteem, respect for property, and respect for the rights of others.

Community Resource

Chris Harris, the park founder, has worked very hard for the past 20 years to improve the Ivanhoe Neighborhood in Kansas City. Chris has lived in Ivanhoe for most of his life. Although there remains much to do to improve the area, his efforts have had a very positive impact on the Ivanhoe Neighborhood and its residents. He has pursued his dream with very limited financial and manpower resources.

In Fall 2016, a group of financial and business backers agreed to join with Chris to move his dream to a higher level, a level he never thought possible. The new group is planning to raise and invest in the $1.5-2.0 million range to transform this park into an extraordinary community resource, sports and fitness, learning center.