Holiday shoppers trying to get the most bang for their bucks need look no further than Chattanooga’s Parks and Recreation Department, says Rhonda Seeber, the department’s communication manager. “We offer gifts of fun—perfect for the folks and family members who have everything and would enjoy fun recreational experiences,” she says.

Parks and Recreation, which oversees facilities from the Chattanooga Zoo to Chattown Skate Park, sells memberships and annual passes that can be used as stocking stuffers or seasonal expressions of appreciation. Among the available gifts:

• Chattown Skate Park Membership: $50 per person annual membership entitles the bearer to $2-per-day admission all and invitations to special events, clinics and tournaments. Day passes and Frequent Skater Cards also available. Call 757-2076.
• Chattanooga Zoo “Friends of the Zoo” Membership Levels: Individual (individual and one guest, $25); Family (two adults plus their children under 15, $45); Grandparents (two adults plus children under the age of 15, $45); Director’s Circle (same as Family, plus annual breakfast with zoo director, $125). Numerous membership benefits. Call 697-1319.
• Rapid Learning Whitewater Kids Club Membership: $50 individual; $75 family. Ages 8 and up. A year’s worth of “roll practice” classes, discounts on Outventure mini-camps, clinics, and overnight trips, and invitations to special events. Call 842-6629.
• Annual passes to Brainerd and Brown Acres Golf Courses: Can be purchased for play at one or both courses, good for free green fees at any time seven days a week. Rates vary. Call 855-2692 or visit Chattanooga.gov.

The city also offers opportunities for charitable gift-giving, Seeber adds. “You can donate funds to make summer camp scholarships available for inner-city families, or help bring a new, 21st-century accessible playground to Warner Park.”

One $25 donation to the Kidz to Kamp Scholarship Fund makes it possible for a child to attend a week of summer or school-break day camp at a recreation center in his or her neighborhood. “In these lean times, many single parent families would be helped by being able to send their children to the city’s quality camp programs,” Seeber says. Call 643-6081 to become a sponsor.

The Chattanooga Zoo, Frost Stadium and the Chattanooga Fitness Center all are ADA accessible facilities, she says, and numerous groups that serve children with physical and/or cognitive disabilities are raising funds to build a new ADA accessible playground. Gifts to the project are tax deductible. For more information call 697-1321