FRIENDS OF RECREATION
In December 2019, the new Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center opened to serve
the community of Palm Beach.
The Mandel Rec Center was created through a $13.7 million public-private partnership, with two-thirds of the funding coming from private donors. The private funding was secured through a two-year fundraising campaign spearheaded by Friends of Recreation, Inc., a 501c3 created for this purpose. One-third of the funding came from a generous donation from the Morton and Barbara Mandel Family Foundation, one-third from over 150 Palm Beach families, foundations, and corporations, and one-third from the Town of Palm Beach.
The Mandel Rec Center now serves as the center of community life with an organic cafe, a
stunning playground, a fully equipped fitness center, a regulation soccer and lacrosse field, an
after-school center, and many activity rooms. The Smith Family Fieldhouse is a gymnasium
abuzz with activities seven days a week offering, among other programs, group fitness classes,
pickleball, youth and adult basketball, gymnastics, and tumbling programs.
To support the long-term viability of the Mandel Rec Center, the Friends of Recreation board has created an endowment fund and now provides grants to the Town of Palm Beach Recreation Department aimed at improving programming, providing scholarships to children of town employees, and funding for facility improvements not fully funded by the town. The
endowment in 2024 now exceeds $1.2 million and grows as donors continue to make
contributions and receive naming rights to various features of the Mandel Rec Center.
Find additional donor opportunities HERE
The Mandel Recreation Center is now a cornerstone of the Palm Beach community. For young
and older residents alike, the healthy lifestyle made available through the Rec Center has made
it a magnet for all residents of the town and an invaluable way to make friends and meaningful
connections.
Discover the Mandel Recreation Center HERE