In November 2015, the VP Foundation was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization and by May, 2016 a group of volunteers had been invited from the business community and/or selected from the general public through a request for expressions of interest, to form a Board of Directors for the Foundation. The mandate of the foundation is to: raise awareness of plans for Victoria Park; solicit funds
for rejuvenating the park, which will be matched by the City of St. John’s; and implement the master plan to rejuvenate Victoria Park, which has been developed through and approved by public consultation. Victoria Park, designated as a park and named in 1889, is nearing its 130th birthday (2019). It is one of the oldest and most historic parks in the province and has not seen any major investment for many years. Over time, the Park has lost a number of its features and the attractiveness that made it a welcoming place in the community. The master plan seeks to renew Victoria Park to the community attraction it once was. Implementation of the plan depends on fundraising. The Foundation’s goal is to finish the work by then and efforts will be on-going to raise the money to implement all phases of the master plan and it is expected that the Foundation will have to raise $2.5 million. John’s will match all funds raised dollar-for-dollar.
