Pints4Parks: Parks, Protests, and Soccer

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The custom label from Gigantic's Portland Parks Foundation beer!

Join Timber’s Jack Jewsbury and PP&R’s Vicente Harrison to talk about the role of parks & recreation during racial justice protests & COVID-19

Join us for a happy hour conversation with two Portland heroes—Jack Jewsbury from the Portland Timbers and Thorns and Vicente Harrison, Portland Parks & Recreation's Security & Emergency Manager —for frontline reports from the soccer championships and our parks in the COVID/Black Lives Matter era.

Vicente Harrison (left) & Jack Jewsbury and his family (right)

And, for just $60 you can also both become a Portland Parks Foundation (PPF) member AND enjoy the conversation with 12 bottles delivered to your door of limited edition Pints4Parks beer specially brewed by Portland's own Gigantic Brewing Company in BottleDrop refillable bottles.

At this virtual event we'll get Jack's behind-the-scenes reports on our Timbers and Thorns playoff games in Florida and Utah. The retired midfielder and star is now the Timbers/Thorns director of business development, a parks lover, and PPF board member. Vicente, a veteran parks ranger who wrote a children's book on race and nature, will offer a frontline look at how his job and parks are changing in this challenging, exciting, turbulent era.

Join us for a virtual evening of like-minded folks who care about sports, parks, and making a difference in our city.

What’s that custom beer like?

“The Peace & Kolsch is a brew inspired by the Kolsch’s that come out of Cologne, Germany, with a subtle balance of malt and hops. The Peace & Kolsch is light and drinkable with a crisp and clean finish. It comes in a refillable bottle that can be reused, making it the most sustainable choice! Simply return it to your local BottleDrop Redemption Center, or place it in your Green Bags to give your bottles another life!”

— Gigantic Brewing Company

Ticket Options:

$60 - includes delivery of 12, 500mL bottles of Gigantic's Portland Parks Foundation beer (see restrictions below), membership to the Portland Parks Foundation, as well as access to the online event.

$10 - includes access to this online event.

Beer is provided by Gigantic in BottleDrop refillable bottles.

Restrictions on beer deliveries

1. Zip codes that qualify for delivery are: 97201, 97202, 97204, 97205, 97206, 97209, 97210, 97211, 97212, 97213, 97214, 97215, 97216, 97217, 97218, 97219, 97220, 97222, 97232, 97239, 97266, 97267, 97015, 97086.

2. You must be 21 years or older to receive beer. Customers will need to be present and able to show ID when case is delivered. During checkout you will select your preferred delivery day before the event. Gigantic will send out this blurb with their confirmation once they receive your order: “Expect delivery between 12pm (noon) and 6pm on the Delivery Day. We will text you just before we come to your house for delivery. We do need to see the face of somebody over 21 before we can leave the beer, but we promise to keep our distance.

A huge thank you to Gigantic Brewing Company for this unique opportunity!

“Portlanders for Parks” Community Campaign Launches

A Parks Levy will restore investments in parks and natural areas, and increase access to recreation opportunities for all Portlanders

On July 22, the Portland City Council referred a five-year Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) local option tax levy to the November ballot.

The proposed levy will restore investments in parks, natural areas, and services and will dramatically increase access to recreation opportunities for communities of color, refugees and immigrants, and families experiencing poverty.

The levy "is an opportunity to make sure we continue to serve all Portlanders—and serve them better than we have before,” said Mayor Ted Wheeler, who as Parks Commissioner advanced the funding measure. He added, "This is a critical first step towards fulfilling our shared vision for a more stable parks bureau that can better serve all Portlanders.”

The proposed levy is also critically needed to reopen PP&R facilities and restart recreation programs as our community recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic, closure of community centers and pools, and cancellation of recreation activities have created a multi-million dollar deficit for Portland Parks & Recreation.

Portlanders for Parks launched today to support the levy, and urge Portlanders to vote yes this November.  

“The virus and economic downturn have hit all of us hard, but have had a disproportionate impact on low-income communities and Black, Indigenous and communities of color in Portland. This measure will help to ensure that all Portlanders – regardless of race, income, or background – have access to the Parks & Recreation programs we rely on,” says Jenny Glass, Executive Director of the Rosewood Initiative in East Portland.

Photo courtesy of Portland Parks & Recreation

The proposed levy would:

• Protect natural areas, and plant more trees in park lands to help to ensure clean water in local rivers and streams;

• Restore recreational programs, including fitness, arts, senior programs, youth programs and environmental education;

• Improve access for all Portlanders by making our parks cleaner, safer, and more welcoming;

• Preserve programs for children experiencing poverty, including a summer playground lunch program, life-saving swim lessons, outdoor camps, and recreation scholarships.

“We recognize the challenges that PP&R faces budget-wise and that communities of color will be disproportionately impacted by further cuts to service,” Tony DeFalco, Executive Director of Verde, wrote in testimony to Council. “We thank PP&R for its leadership to address budget shortfalls and to prioritize equity in utilization of new resources, and look forward to stable and secure funding for our parks system.” Verde also called on PP&R to engage low-income and people of color communities, and incorporate racial equity criteria to guide levy investments.

Before the coronavirus crisis, PP&R was evaluating options for more sustainable funding—options that would fund recreation programs and services for the community without depending on fees that are a hurdle many Portlanders with financial challenges. The proposed levy will not only mitigate the revenue impact of COVID-19, it will also fix this long-standing and inequitable reliance on fees.

“Unless this measure passes, Portland will face considerable challenges to maintaining playgrounds, community centers, restrooms, and more, forcing many closures,” says Randy Gragg, Executive Director of the Parks Foundation. “Without this measure, we will not have the equitable park system the community deserves.”

During City Council’s referral hearing, Portland State University Professor Vivek Shandas shared Google data showing parks have become the single most visited land-use in the region. And others testified to the powerful importance parks are playing as respites in the pandemic, gathering places for the Black Lives Matter movement, and critical habitat and cooling as the planet warms.

"The Covid-19 crisis serves as a stark reminder of how important our parks, natural areas, urban tree canopy and park programs are to the health, well-being and resilience of our communities,” said Portland Audubon Conservation Director, Bob Sallinger.  “This levy is urgently needed to ensure that PP&R can continue to provide and expand essential services, equitable access and  improve the ecological health of our neighborhoods at a time when those services are both desperately needed and at real risk.”

Photo courtesy of Portland Parks & Recreation

The proposed levy will also prevent further job cuts for the frontline parks workers who care for our parks, and provide recreation services for Portlanders.

“Portland’s recreation programs are crucial in providing free and low-cost opportunities for kids to stay safe and healthy, especially when schools are closed or limiting kids’ access,” says Tom Colett, Lead Field Representative for Laborers’ Local 483, which represents hundreds of workers who work at community centers, SUN schools, and parks and wildlife locations throughout Portland. “But Portland has had to make deep cuts to recreation programs – just at the moment when local families need them most. This measure will help to restore these vital recreation programs.”

LEVY BACKGROUND

The proposed levy rate of .80 per $1,000 will raise an estimated average $48 million per year over five years. For a home with an assessed value of $200,000, the owner would pay about $13 a month.

If you or your organization would like to volunteer or endorse, contact us at levy@portlandpf.org.



Small grants promote access and outdoor education to underserved youth and their families

Portland Parks Foundation is pleased to announce the latest round of winners in our Small Grants Program, PDX Alliance for Self Care, Portland Free Play and Urban Nature Partners PDX. Established with funds from parks patron Nancy Hebb Freeman, the program provides -capacity-building support for organizations whose work aligns with PPF’s mission to ensure a thriving and accessible parks system.

At a time where COVID-19 has shifted learning to online, reduced social interaction and increased concerns about child obesity and depression, PPF is proud to partner with three organizations committed to increasing opportunities for Black, Indigenous and people of color, immigrant/refugee, disabled, low-income and all marginalized youth and their families in public parks and nature.

PDX Alliance for Self Care

PDX Alliance for Self Care is a volunteer-organization addressing underrepresentation of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPoC), LGBTQ2SIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Two Spirit, Intersex, Asexual, plus other non-hetero orientations or genders), immigrant/refugee, disabled, low-income and all marginalized youth and their families in public parks and nature. Founded on a belief that this work should be led by those most impacted, local BIPoC educators and community leaders provide summer nature and mindfulness camps in our public parks. The grant will enable the Alliance to expand their outreach, improve their organizational communications and marketing. PPF funds will be used to support hiring of a graphic designer to create a logo to brand their program as well as translating the information into more languages that can be distributed by educators, newspapers and culturally-specific websites allowing the Alliance to reach more marginalized youth and their families.

Portland Free Play

A self-proclaimed, “lean and scrappy volunteer-run organization,” Portland Free Play partners with Portland Parks & Recreation Free Lunch + Play program to deliver pop-up playground events to park and community sites where youth have less access to these experiences. Portland Free Play is currently working on a plan to expand to 12 different Lunch + Play sites in 2020, specifically focusing on East Portland where many youths live in parks deficient neighborhoods. PPF grants funds will be used to develop a fundraising strategy with a goal of raising enough funds to hire a part time position to administer and expand the program.

Urban Nature Partners PDX

Urban Nature Partners PDX fills a gap in outdoor programming for youth from diverse, low-income families residing in Cully, Lents, Portsmouth and outer NE Portland. Their mission is to increase historically marginalized Portland communities’ access to and opportunities for meaningful experiences in urban parks and outdoor programs. Through their partnerships with local BIPoC and immigrant/refugee organizations, they provide mentor-youth programs in public parks and natural areas led by and for BIPoC communities.  These pairings also engage each youth’s family with monthly family events in natural areas and offer free summer camp opportunities in public parks after the first year of mentorship. PPF funds will support direct costs to deliver Spanish speaking programming support and their expansion to partner with youth in outer NE Portland.

Protests Then and Now: Keller Fountain at 50

Watch the video of opening day at Keller Fountain, June 23, 1970

The last time fed-up, determined, energized protesters roiled Portland for days, the Portland’s Parks Commissioner called in the police’s riot squad. Thirty-four people ended up in the hospital. And it happened just days before the ribbon-cutting of Portland’s most globally renowned public park. The year: 1970.

Today that park—Keller Fountain—turns 50 years old. Heralded in the New York Times as “the most important urban space since the Renaissance,” its resplendent waterfalls are turned off due to the pandemic. (For more information on the anniversary, go to halprinconservancy.org) But given our own moment of turmoil and change, the anniversary offers a good moment to ponder its importance and the central roles public parks and squares play in Portland’s civic life.

The recent days’ protests in support of Black Lives Matter have often begun and ended in parks. In Pioneer Courthouse Square, Indigenous people have gathered to dance and sing, and frontline health care workers in scrubs and masks have taken a knee in solidarity. Meantime, for weeks, parks have offered fresh air, nature, and the distance to see our neighbors to safely sooth the stresses of the pandemic. But as spring turned to summer in 1970, the city’s oldest park became a vicious battleground, while its newest—Keller—offered a splashing celebration of the power of new public space.

Forecourt Fountain (Keller Fountain’s first name) opened in 1970 to international renown. Ada Louise Huxtable writing in the New York Times described it as “new kind of people’s plaza” and likened to to Rome’s Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona but with a “geologic naturalism” befitting the Pacific Northwest. But the month before the ribbon-cutting, a very different scene had unfolded in on of Portland’s oldest parks just four blocks away in response to the National Guard gunning down four Kent State University students protesting American war on Vietnam.

The Oregonian’s Douglas Perry recently recapped what became known as “Battle of the Park Blocks,” when students from Portland State University, Reed College, and Lewis & Clark College and others built nine barricades around South Park Blocks. As elsewhere across the country, the Kent State killings were the trigger. The transport of nerve gas through Oregon and the imprisonment of Black Panther Bobby Seals were others. The result: a three-park-block “liberated zone.”

As tense occupation unfolded, Mayor Terry Shrunk turned down Gov. Tom McCall’s offer to send the National Guard. But after five days, Shrunk’s protest point man, Frank Ivancie, then the Parks Commissioner, had had enough. He sent in Portland Police Bureau’s riot squad armed with clubs who quickly, brutally cleared the area. Thirty students and four police officers ended the evening in the hospital.

The next day, 3,500 people marched on City Hall—and not just students. “I want to cry,” an elderly woman protester told a film crew. “Sure, we know there are radicals  . . . but, my God all mighty, when are we going to step forward and start helping?”

As tensions ebbed in days following, amazingly, strangely even, city officials proceeded with the long-planned opening of Forecourt Fountain.

The new city park was the last of four connected fountain plazas designed by Lawrence Halprin and Associates, then arguably the most renowned landscape architecture firm in the world. Inspired by natural landscapes, the first two—Lovejoy Fountain and Pettygrove Park—completed in 1966, opened Portlanders’ eyes to what public space in the middle of an otherwise pretty dreary downtown could be. Lovejoy earned a three-page pictorial in Life, “Mid-city Mountain Stream,” then, one of the nation’s preeminent magazines, circulation 13-million.

The plazas’ history is complicated. On the one hand, they were the central features of Portland’s first urban renewal area for which a 55-block, largely Jewish and Italian immigrant neighborhood was cleared. Some residents and business-owners fumed at the city. Others welcomed the opportunity to move out the district’s many decrepit firetrap apartments into some of the city’s first publicly built affordable housing. On the other hand, Lovejoy Fountain instantly swarmed with people becoming a kind of downtown swimming hole. In the months following, a grassroots movement began to turn Portland’s riverside highway into what became Tom McCall Waterfront Park. The Portland Planning Commission rejected a full-block, 12-story parking garage and called for a new park instead—what years later became Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Halprin and his wife, Anna Halprin, often collaborators, were charismatic counter-culturists. He designed everything from fountains to regional plans across the world. She choreographed the earliest “postmodern” dance, protests for free speech, and a then-groundbreaking series Black/white encounter groups to deal with racial tensions. Halprin’s lead designer on the project, Angela Danadjieva began her career designing avant garde film sets. Halprin designed the Portland plazas to be stages for a new kind of nature and theater in middle of the city. And with its 30-foot cascade of 30,000-gallons of water per minute, Forecourt was like nothing any city had built before—at least not since the Renaissance.

As officials gathered for the June 23 opening, so did a lot of students. Still tense from May’s clash, the cops looked warily on. Ironically, a dance group in bright blue tights twirled batons. Officials proudly spoke, and then the architect, Lawrence Halprin, took the microphone. “These very straight people somehow understand can be all about,” said Halprin—“straight” being the counter-culture’s label for establishment power. “So as you play in this garden, please try to remember, we’re all in this together . . . I hope this will help us live together as a community both here and all over this planet Earth.”

Halprin jumped into the fountain. So did most everyone else. People joined hands and danced.   

As with the Halprin fountains, many of our parks have complicated histories. Consider Kelley Point Park:  an important traditional gathering place for Indigenous people at the confluence of our two major rivers, but it’s named for a deranged early Oregon promoter who visited the state once and tried to market the site as a future lower Manhattan. Heron Lakes Golf Course and Delta Park, also grounds important to Indigenous people, were first developed as Vanport—a city housing thousands of black shipyard workers—washed away by a 1948 flood.  Every June since 1970 (though canceled this year due to COVID-19), it has hosted the Delta Park Powwow, one of the region’s largest gathering of tribes.  

As Portlanders lurch through history, parks change with us. And, as recent weeks—and June 23, 1970—have shown, our parks can be places for us, together, to change our city.

"as you play in this garden, please try to remember that we're all in this together" - Lawrence Halprin at the dedication of Forecourt Fountain

Black Lives Matter

We at the Portland Parks Foundation stand in solidarity with the protestors exercising their rights—often in our public parks—and proclaim with them the simple truth: Black Lives Matter. 
 
The murders of George Floyd, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed, and so many others, have demonstrated with blunt horror the racism upon which our country is built. We mourn the loss of these Black men and women and are outraged by their deaths. The pain and oppression being visited on the Black communities must also be our pain, and we know we must do much more to fight the racism that infects this country.
 
As the last few months have shown, again and again, parks are essential to our health, our social resilience, and our democracy. And toward strengthening those values, Portland Parks Foundation will deepen our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.  On our board, committees, and public forums, and in our work building and enhancing parks, we will elevate Black voices along with those of others long denied a meaningful role in shaping our city. 
 
In parks we can fight for, but also measure, change. We will join with you to make more places where everyone feels safe and welcomed, where we can play and relax, and where we can speak . . . and, when needed, shout.

Update: SUN Schools Food Drive

Hannah donated and sent us a wonderful, hand-written note too!

The Portland Parks Foundation thanks the many donors and partners who helped us get boxes of nourishing food to the families of the SUN Community Schools program. But let’s give a special shout-out to 8-year-old Hannah Wells, who sent a $1 with a heart-warming note. 

With Hannah’s and others generosity, notably the $10,000 gift from the Ken & Mary Unkeles Family Fund of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation, PPF raised over $34,000 which has provided food boxes to more than 100+ families with 170+ children each week since April 8. So far, over 9,000 meals have been served and thanks to many people's generosity, the meals will keep coming through June 15 when we hope federal and local funds can take over.
 
It takes a village to feed this village—first and foremost, the tireless efforts of the PP&R staffers like Rachael Dibble, Chelsea Kimura, and Kellie Torres who pivoted to feeding hungry SUN School families from normal-times duties like running after-school programs and raising sponsorships for summer concerts. With their leadership, lots of others were able to jump in.
 
For our first round of deliveries, Tom and Anne Barwick, owners of the beloved local Sheridan Fruit Market, worked tirelessly to source the food, much of which they donated or sold at cost. Then the brilliant logistics team at Hood to Coast Productions (yes, that’s the relay folks) grabbed the baton, turning a vacant Safeway into a food-packed distribution center from which the Portland Police Bureau’s Sunshine Division are delivering food boxes to SUN School families and all kinds of other folks across the city. (And unlike surgical masks, the cost of these boxes, in HTC’s able hands, keeps going down!)
 
So, thank you again, Hannah, for your generosity and compassion. Like any successful campaign this one touched many hearts. But Hannah touched our hearts back.

Thank You to those who made this campaign a success:

David Abbott & Barbara Gazeley
Debbie Adams
Anonymous
Paul Agrimis
Jeff Anderson & Joan Vallejo
Don Arancibia
Eileen Argentina
Stephanie Arnold
Carol Baumann
Donna Belle
Mark Bello
David Berger
Richard Bills
Audrey & Morton Bishop
Rebecca Bodonyi
Christine Bourdette
Jonathan Brinckman
Richard Louis Brown
Jim Brunke
Denise Bynoe
Mary Anne Cassin & Ken Meyer
Cynthia Castro
Nancy Chapman
Misty Chatterley
Tracy Connelly
John Coon
Desiree Costello
Allison Crocker
William Cunninghame
Mariah Currey
Vicky Davies
Stephen Davis
Kathryn Dibble
Ralph Dinola
Matthew DiVeronica
Caroline Donelan
Judith Eda
Virginia Edwards
John Eichenauer
Kate Elliott

Susan Endecott
Megan Fairbank
Kenneth Fairfax
Judith Farmer
Maureen Farran
Jeffrey Feiffer
Matthew Feldman
Sarah Ferguson
Roberta Ferrero
Elizabeth Field
Jean Fogarty
Jeannie Frederick
Mary-Beth Frerichs
Amanda Fritz
Patricia Forbes & Richard Smith
Robert Gandolfi & Ron Bloodworth
Roger Geller
Corinne Gentner
Judy J. Graves
Alicia Hammock
Jamey Hampton & Ashley Roland
Alicia Harding
Mark Hartford
Barbara Haynes
Ted and Andrea Heid
Jane Henderson
Sydney Herbert
Sharon Hoffert
Joan Hoffman
Susan Hoffman
Diane Hollister
Valerie Ilsley
Janine and Hiroshi Iwaya
Heather Jarrow
Brad Johnson
Karen Johnson
Kathleen Jones
Rich & Jean Josephson
Ariel Kaplan

Chris Karlin
Catherine and Timothy Keith
David Kennedy
Nate Kettlewell
Mary King
Kathleen Kirkpatrick
Cherry Kolbenschlag
Ann Kopel
Tony Lamb
Melody Lang
Steve Levy
Muriel Lezak
Susan Lucke
Carter and Jenny MacNichol
Kathleen Madden
Jim and Jenny Mark
Nancy Matthews
Rebecca McCarthy
Kate Mcllwain
Debra McMillen
Edward McNamara & Andrea Vargo
Alice Meyer
Kyle Meyer
Thomas T. Meyer
Cate Millar
Adam Mishcon
Suzann Murphy
John Naito
Alex Naito
Anne Nelson
My Nguyen
Julie Nittler
Chet Orloff
Jim Owens
Stacy Parker
Jason Peck
Renee Rank
Margaret Rikert
Robert Rineer
Tyler Robinson
Deborah Rossi
Charlotte Rubin

Mary & Craig Ruble
Holly Sancomb
Janet G. Sanderson
Zahra Santner & John Kelly
Meredith Savery
Karen Schneider
Wendy Schreiber
Leigh Schwarz
Ann Schwarz
Sarah Scott
William Scott
Art Shapiro
Kathryn Sheibley
David Sloan
Dianna Smiley
Susan Songer
Ellen Stearns
Charlie and Darcie Swindells
Jim Tai
Ken and Mary Unkeles
JoAnn Vrilakas
Dale Walker
Karin Waller
Michael Walsh & Julie Glover-Walsh
Susan Watson
Howard Weinstein
Allison Wells
Hannah Wells
Elizabeth & Todd Whalen
David Wheeler
Stacie White
Bill Will
Karen Willoughby
Daryl Wilson
Diane Winn
Annie Winn
Robert Wolf
Joann Wolfe
Dave Wolfe
Martha Wyrsch

Watch our campaign videos here:

Barbara Walker Crossing Temporary Closure

We hope everyone is finding ways to safely enjoy Portland this spring. We feel very fortunate to still have access to our city’s parks, natural areas and trails. For those of you planning a trip to the Barbara Walker Crossing, please note that it will be temporary closed from 05/04/2020 to 05/08/2020 at 4:00 PM. The work is weather-dependent, so the dates of the closure may change if weather changes. View a map of the area closed. For more information, please contact Eder Katembwe at eder.katembwe@portlandoregon.gov.

Remember to please follow ALL public health guidelines and maintain 6 feet of social distancing with other park and trail users, including PP&R staff who are out working. Please go to www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/covid-19 for more details.

You can still enjoy the Wildwood Trail and Forest Park during this temporary closure. You can go here to access up to date trail closure information.

What do city council candidates have to say about our parks?

We shape our city council, and afterwards our city council shapes us.

In May Portlanders will cast their first votes to reshape City Hall. With three open spots on
City Council, there’s a lot at stake. The Portland Parks Foundation wanted to provide a forum for Portlanders to learn our candidates’ views on parks, open space and urban design. With so many candidates, we needed a way to narrow the field, so we asked each candidate to submit responses to a series of questions. A jury of Parks Foundation and Portland Parks Board members scored the answers—with the candidate names hidden.

We invited the top eight scorers to participate in our e-forum on April 20, 2020. Watch a recording of the forum below. Thank you to the candidates for participating in both the Q&A and the e-forum.

Although we couldn’t include all of the candidates in the e-forum on April 20, we are able to provide their full responses to the series of questions we asked each of them.

Announcing the 2020 U.S. Bank Parks Champions

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The U.S. Bank Parks Champion Award recognizes an individual who provided outstanding volunteer service to a park, community center, natural area or community garden.

Portland Parks Foundation Awards two winners this year, each receiving the opportunity to direct a $1,500 grant from PPF to a community organization that aligns with our mission: to create a thriving and accessible parks system.

We had 29 nominations this year. Each of their photos are above and you can read about each of them here. To those who submitted nominations, thank you. We received nominations for volunteers contributing the following activities to our communities

• Service spanning decades to places like Leach Botanical Gardens and Washington Park and Peninsula Park Rose Gardens

• Place justice advocacy in North Portland working to revitalize George Park.

• Advocating for recreation and programming related to increased access for biking and basketball and hiking

• Restoring historical spaces like the Halprin Open Sequence and Terwilliger Parkway

• Maintaining parks through pulling weeds and invasive species in places like Mt. Tabor Park and Tanner Springs

• Cleaning up trash and increasing safety in Errol Heights, Pier Park, and the South Park Blocks,

• Assisting community members to grow their own food in Fulton community garden.

• Advocating for the native American community to have access to parks and natural areas to

• Advocacy for playground equipment and park improvements in places like Patton Square and Rose City Park

• Enhancing the experience for others who visit their parks through elevated programming and wonderful tours

• Designing mindfulness programming at the Portland Japanese Garden

• Tracking and protecting wildlife in places like Whitaker Ponds Nature Parks

Here are your 2020 U.S. Bank Parks Champions

Cynthia Sulaski

Nominated for her volunteer work in North Portland including her work with Pittman Hydro Park, Patton Square Park, Overlook Park, and Friends of Trees to plant over 800 trees in North Portland, Cynthia is a problem solver who makes a difference for residents in and around Overlook as well as other areas in North Portland.

In addition to being an organizer for all things parks, she is also the first one to get her hands dirty whether it’s picking up trash or planting new trees. In addition to fundraising to build playgrounds, organizing park clean up days, planting trees and much, much more, she ensures that Movies in a Park in Overlook Park are kid-friendly and welcoming to all communities, year after year.

Cynthia has requested that her $1,500 grant go to the Overlook Neighborhood Association specifically for the Summer Free for All Movies in Overlook Park expenses.

Ken Lee

Ken Lee has been a volunteer coach since 1965 for the Goldenball Youth Basketball Program.
He has bene a volunteer coach for thousands of kids going through the program. He encourages
kids to participate, parents to volunteer as coaches and communicates the importance of
sportsmanship. This program has approximately 3,000 kids involved each season and it relies on volunteer coaches to put teams together.

Ken is a coach of coaches. He makes it all possible. He’s a legend in the program and makes a difference in kids’ lives year after year. In addition to being a role model and inspiration with his positive attitude and teaching kids the skills to be successful in sports and in life, Ken also goes out to the community to find sponsorship registration for team registration and uniform purchase for kids who would otherwise not be able to participate in PP&R and Goldenball.

Ken Lee would like his $1,500 grant to go towards Goldenball Youth Basketball program expenses, specifically to help out the Harvey Scott basketball program.

Read about each of the nominees and the amazing volunteer work they are doing in our city!

Link to PDF here.