Volunteering in your community

[Downtown]

Sorry guys, didn't know where else to put this. We've got our very first large scale passive park project that will be completed this summer. However, I was wondering if any of your were involved with, or knew of, any other groups that were created for the organization of volenteers for maintenence and promotion of the neighborhood park. NYC has a great volunteer program, but I was hoping to come up with something else a little less "urban" in feel. The word "Urban" makes our political leaders a little bit nervous. Anyway, any help at all would be vastly appreciated.

Kelly

 

[donk]

Try america in bloom. it appears to be similar in nature and scope to the communities in bloom we have in Canada. They provide some guidance and judging of your efforts, but may also provide other links and resources.

http://www.americainbloom.org

Another good organization that outlines how to set up and maintain volunteer groups is IMBA. Try www.imba.com

 

[nerudite]

When I lived in Oak Harbor, Washington, I was the only planner for a town of about 21,000 people. Our staff resources were really stretched, especially when it came to park maintenance. We ended up working with various volunteer groups instead of trying to make a new volunteer committee for the purpose of park maintenance. The most active volunteers were in the Garden Club, which ended up maintaining the more labor intensive areas (like planting and maintaining entrance parkways full of tulips and daffodils). If they weren't so active in looking for new projects I would have never guessed that an existing volunteer organization would be so reliable in maintaining the park areas.

Maybe there are some existing clubs or organizations in your area that you could tap into as well. Good luck!

 

[Planderella]

Here in the Big Easy, there's a public/private group called Parkway Partners that oversees general maintainence of many of the smaller urban parks/community gardens as well as other types of green spaces throughout the city.

www.parkwaypartners.com

 

[Bullwinkle]

I don't know much about it yet, but the Central Idaho Alliance for Service and Volunteerism has just been created in my neck of the woods. Partners include the UofI Cooperative Extension, Idaho TRIO AmeriCorps, Corporation for National Service, the Points of Light Foundation, InterMountain Regional Learning Center, and school districts in three counties.

From their press release: "The goal of the Alliance is to meet the volunteer management needs of the region through the establishment of a Volunteer Center in Valley County with satellites in Adams County and the southern part of Idaho County. This Volunteer Center will work to mobilize people and resources to deliver creative solutions to community needs. ...The Volunteer Center will meet volunteer management needs in the community including recruitment, screening, training, and retention of volunteers, and will coordinate volunteer resources with needs."

They aren't primarily focused on parks, but might be of some assistance to you. You can reach the Intermountain Learning Center at irlc(at)ctcweb.net.

 

[Jeff]

Philly has several of them. Friends of the Wissahickon, Friends of Fairmount Park. Sorry, not aware of any web pages though I'm sure you could find something. They've been pretty popular in the news lately because the Fairmount Park Commission just held elections for their board.