PORTLAND PARKS FOUNDATION, PP&R AND PARTNERS PRESENT PARKE DIEM 2015
1000+ Volunteers, 50 Projects, 45 park sites
Date: Friday & Saturday, Oct. 9 & 10, 2015
When: Times vary by project
Where: Visit the Portland Parks Foundation’s Parklandia page to see the Parke Diem sites and projects, and to sign up to volunteer.
The nonprofit Portland Parks Foundation (PPF) and Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) are pleased to announce the return of Parke Diem: Portland’s biggest citywide volunteer work party for the city’s beloved parks. More than 1000 volunteers are joining forces at 45 sites – community gardens, parks, natural areas, and sports fields - across Portland for Parke Diem’s third year.
“Portland Parks & Recreation can only do the great work we do because of partnerships with the Foundation, and with our volunteers,” notes Portland Parks Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who will once again take part in several Parke Diem events. “Parks’ community gardens staff say that the volunteers at Parke Diem accomplish at least four months of work in just two days. I thank the Portland Parks Foundation for bringing so many volunteers together in one coordinated two day effort.“
A half million volunteer hours each year supplement PP&R’s dedicated workers with the shared goal of ‘Healthy Parks, Healthy Portland’…for all. ParkeDiem is a grass-roots volunteer endeavor to help maintain our City’s beloved parks.
“Parke Diem isn’t just about our friends and neighbors getting out to volunteer,” says Portland Parks Foundation Board Chair Gina Eiben. “It’s an opportunity for all of us to see the significant needs of the parks that we love so dearly, and to pitch in to make a difference. Portlanders’ sense of community and generosity is celebrated at Parke Diem—it highlights our corporate and individual community members’ ownership of the health of our parks system.”
“It’s neighbors helping neighbors toward our shared goal of Healthy Parks, Healthy Portland,” says PP&R Director Mike Abbaté. “Parke Diem is an exciting way to make a real difference in the quality of life in our city,” We thank our friends at the Portland Parks Foundation for leading the charge.”
PP&R’s dozens of community gardens will enjoy numerous Parke Diem work parties. Other exciting Parke Diem projects include the renovation and maintenance of four baseball fields in Pier Park, the building of a set of stairs in Forest Park and the continuation of a project where volunteers will plant 10,000 crocus bulbs in Peninsula Park.
Parke Diem is led by a network of community volunteers and park friends groups.
“Hoyt Arboretum Friends is excited to host Parke Diem for the third year,” says Heather Wilkinson, the Volunteer Coordinator of the Hoyt Arboretum Friends group. “Each year we bring in over one hundred people, some of whom have never even heard of the Arboretum. It’s a great way to introduce people to this museum of trees as well as getting much needed work accomplished. With 189 acres maintained by a few staff, volunteers are essential to the survival of our 2,000 tree species.”
Parke Diem is led by the Portland Parks Foundation, an independent, nonprofit organization formed in 2001, to bring resources for the long-term stewardship of Portland's parks and park programs, and to ensure that they remain publicly supported. The Foundation works hand in hand with Portland Parks & Recreation, and is committed to building collaborations that strengthen Portland's parks and neighborhoods. Parke Diem is the latest in a long line of initiatives designed to keep our park system among the best in America.
Lead Sponsors:
Columbia Sportswear
Juan Young Trust - Western Division
Nike
The Coca Cola Foundation
Zipcar