Park Pride has announced that $864,000 has been granted to 21 community groups in Atlanta and DeKalb County to fund capital park improvements. To date, Park Pride has awarded over $6.6 million to projects that include new playgrounds, bridges and piers, informational kiosks and signage, trails, exercise equipment, community gardens, game fields, pavilions, green infrastructure amenities to help manage stormwater runoff, and more.

In 2019, Park Pride celebrates its 30^th anniversary of engaging communities to activate the power of parks. Through funding capital park improvements and programs focused on building the capacity and cohesion of Friends of the Park groups, the nonprofit supports neighbors as they create parks that meet the needs of their communities.

“Across Atlanta and DeKalb, Friends of the Park volunteers are dedicated to creating great parks,” explained Tina Arnold, Park Pride’s Director of Community Building responsible for the Friends of the Park Program. “I’m proud to work with such committed community leaders, selflessly working to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods for kids, families, seniors, and anyone who visits their park!”

Park Pride’s grantmaking programs, established in 2004, award varying amounts of funding to community groups to revitalize their neighborhood greenspaces. Three distinct grants provide awards of different sizes, designed to support Friends of the Park groups taking on larger projects as they grow and develop capacity. Legacy Grants ($50,000 and up) are funded by the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, and Community Building Grants ($2,500-$50,000) and Small Change Grants (up to $2,500) are funded by The Home Depot Foundation. Each dollar of every grant is matched by the community and other sources, which, at a minimum, doubles the award’s impact!

Park Pride’s Associate Director, Allison Barnett, expressed appreciation for the grant programs’ funders, stating, “As we enter into our milestone 30^th anniversary year, we’re so thankful for our grant program funders who have helped us bring over $6.6 million of investments into our parks since the program began. They are committed to making a positive difference in greenspaces for the families and communities that use them, and we’re so appreciative of their ongoing support and partnership for the greener good!”

Charles Anderson, leader of the Friends of Lithonia Park, was thrilled to receive the news that his Friends group had been awarded a Community Building Grant to install fitness and sensory play equipment in the DeKalb County park. “We are so excited that Park Pride is supporting the Friends of Lithonia Park, the City of Lithonia, and DeKalb County as we work together to revitalize our park!” he stated. “The Music Meadow [sensory play equipment] will help our children—and likely some of us older folks—discover talents and boost creativity. The fitness equipment will provide exercise opportunities to families that do not have equipment at home or who cannot afford gym memberships. We will all get healthier together!”

In 2019, Park Pride’s Small Change Grants and Community Building Grants will be available to communities in the City of Brookhaven and the City of Tucker, as well as in the City of Atlanta and DeKalb County. These grants will be funded by The Home Depot Foundation with additional support from Deen Day Sanders.