years Parks are the Heart of Community 2018 Impact Report letter from the 75 285 85 executive director 400 Friend, Thirty years ago, a group of passionate individuals in Atlanta came together around three shared beliefs: that great parks improve well-being, have the power to strengthen communities, and make cities and the environment more resilient. Committed to the greener good, these individuals nurtured the culture of stewardship for community and greenspace upon which Park Pride was built. 20 Park Pride began as a small nonprofit focused mostly on park beautification projects. The scope of our work has grown over the years in response to the growing need for access to quality parks within walking distance of where people live. With your support in 2018, Park Pride enhanced parks in every corner of the city. Together, we helped over 160 Friends of the Park groups improve parks while building community along the way. With our dedicated team of landscape architects, neighbors were invited to dream big and imagine what’s possible in their greenspace. We awarded nearly $1 million in matching grants for park improvements and hosted another wildly successful Parks and Greenspace Conference, an inspirational event that has grown to be the largest 20 annual parks conference in the Southeast. None of these accomplishments were achieved on our own. Your support sustains Park Pride, and our successes are yours as well. Since 1989, our understanding of the important role that parks play in communities has evolved. As one 75 park enthusiast recently stated, “As the heart is the lifeblood of human existence, public parks play the 85 same role in society.” In other words, parks are the heart of community. 675 While parks are the heart of community, friends like you are the heart of Park Pride. Together, we have much to celebrate. As we move forward into the next chapter of building a legacy of great parks and strong communities within Atlanta, we invite you to reconfirm your commitment to 285 the greener good and join us at the Green Tie Gala this fall, a celebration that will commemorate three decades of accomplishments and those still to come. Thank you for being a part of our story. Now, we hope you enjoy this look back at some of our favorite moments from 2018 that illustrate the difference you made possible in our city. Michael Halicki Park Pride’s Executive Director 2 2018 impact area Friends75 of the Park Program 285 Volunteer Program 85 400 Fiscal Partner Program Community Garden Program Park Visioning Program Grant Programs 20 20 75 85 675 philosophy | Park Pride believes in the power of parks. Great parks have the power to increase our quality of life and strengthen the fabric of our cities. They are welcoming places for members of the community to gather,285 play, relax, and connect with nature, encouraging mental and physical health. Great parks promote community engagement, safety, and revitalization. They generate economic benefits and enhance the ecological health of our neighborhoods. Great parks make our residents happy, our communities strong, and our city resilient. mission | To engage communities to activate the power of parks. vision | Park Pride envisions Atlanta strengthened by and united through great parks, trails, and greenspaces that meet the needs and reflect the unique character of all communities. 3 supporting communities record 163 Friends of the Park groups n 2018, our programs and resources reached a record I163 Friends of the Park groups comprised of people, like Isabel González Whitaker, who want more for their park, for their families, and for their neighborhood. A Look at Sara J. González Park Isabel dreamed of transforming a small, tired park into a vibrant space that would champion the values of diversity, inclusivity, and family: a space that would honor the name of her mother. She registered a Friends of the Park group with Park Pride and immediately took advantage of the Fiscal Partner Program to raise money. She was later awarded several grants. When you visit Sara J. González Park today, you’ll find an all-abilities playground, a welcoming plaza, and features that celebrate and encourage a culture of inclusion. The Friends group is also working toward the installation of a learning nook to host educational activities for community members of all ages, as well as a small soccer field and a community garden. “Communities thrive where there are greenspaces and safe spaces for children to play and for communities to come together.” ~ Isabel González Whitaker, Friends of Sara J. González Park Your Support Matters! With your help, Park Pride’s programs—including Friends of the Park, Fiscal Partner, Grants, and Community Gardens—are connecting Friends of the Park groups across Atlanta and DeKalb to resources that help them enrich their communities through park improvements. Read more about how the Friends of Sara J. González Park Local children enjoy the inclusive playground accomplished their goals with the support of Park Pride’s at Sara J. González Park. services: parkpride.org/sarajgonzalezpark. Photo credit: Ricardo Martinez 4 improving parks 22,500 volunteer hours in parks and on trails n 2018, our Volunteer Program completed 253 Iprojects, bringing 6,730 volunteers into 64 parks and the Atlanta BeltLine, a labor investment valued at $452,600. A Look at Hairston Park In celebration of Earth Day, Park Pride and the Friends of Hairston Park rallied over 80 volunteers to dig in and give back during this important day of service. There were volunteers from local small businesses, large corporations, church groups, fraternities, and neighbors representing four adjacent neighborhoods. Working together, these volunteers removed invasive plants, restored a natural path along the lake, painted and beautified park features, and removed over 30 bags of litter from the park. In addition to the hard work, volunteers enjoyed quite a bit of fun as well! “I’m a firm believer that we don’t have to leave our neighborhood to have something nice and enjoy something nice. Without Park Pride, we wouldn’t have what we have today.” ~ Gwendolyn Stegall, Friends of Hairston Park Coming Together to Advance the Cause Through our Volunteer Program, individuals have the opportunity to come together with their communities to make a difference in the places they live. Friends of the Park groups forge relationships and build networks of park supporters that they call on to pick up trash, remove invasive plants, restore habitats, and more. No task is too big when you’ve got friends to rely on! Park Pride volunteer days are hard work Learn how the Friends of Hairston Park strengthened their AND fun! Just ask these volunteers at the “park pride” by participating in Park Pride’s Volunteer Urban Food Forest at Browns Mill. Program: parkpride.org/hairstonpark. 5 imagining what’s possible 20 communities received landscape design services he Park Visioning Program pairs communities with Tour professional landscape architects who help residents reimagine an existing park or plan a new one. However, it’s about more than designing a great park; it’s about building community. A Look at Grant Park Anticipating the future completion of a spur trail from the Atlanta BeltLine to the park’s southeast quadrant— known as Fort Walker—the Grant Park Conservancy and a steering committee of neighbors participated in the Park Visioning Program. They were eager to identify ways to accommodate and welcome the continually growing number of visitors and create a seamless connection to the rest of the park. They also hoped that Park Pride’s bottom-up approach of community engagement would heal divisions and tensions that had deepened in the preceding years on issues relating to the park. The community leaned into the park visioning process and, after several public meetings, came to consensus on a plan that preserves the history of Fort Walker with new trails and a grand entrance. Unified, this community has already begun to bring their plans to life. “The park visioning process was so engaging. There were many neighbors I hadn’t met before and can now say that we’ll be life-long friends.” ~ Jason Winston, Steering committee member, Grant Park Visioning Expanding the Vision for Great Parks In 2018, the Park Visioning team also completed a park design for a new Buckhead park, Loridans Park, The Park Visioning Program collects kicked off the process in DeKalb Memorial Park community input through a series of public and Needham Park in DeKalb County, and provided design consultations for 16 other communities. meetings, like this one at Grant Park. 6 making dreams a reality $864,397 in matching grants awarded to fund capital park projects ark Pride’s grantmaking programs provide the Pcapital to help Friends of the Park groups take the next step toward bringing their park dreams to life. In 2018, 21 Friends of the Park groups received matching funds through our Small Change and Community Building Grants (supported by The Home Depot Foundation) and our Legacy Grants (supported by The Woodruff Foundation). The projects funded will be completed in 2019, enhancing the quality of the park and inviting community members to stay long and visit more often. “We are so excited for Park Pride’s support. The Fitness Forest our grant will fund will provide exercise opportunities to families, and the sports teams that use the park are already planning their workouts. We will all get healthier together!” ~ Charles Anderson, Friends of Lithonia Park 2018 Park Pride Grant Recipients • Armand Park (Atl.) • Longdale Park (DeKalb) • Cabbagetown Park (Atl.) • Melvin Drive Park (Atl.) • Chastain Park (Atl.) • Memorial Drive Greenway (Atl.) • Collier Heights Park (Atl.) • Mozley Park (Atl.) • Grant Park (Atl.) • Sara J.