03/31/2025
At the Park Ridge Friends of the Parks recent annual meeting, I, Jean Costigan, was thrilled to pass the baton to fellow board member, Scott Grau, to lead the Friends of the Parks going forward.
It's hard to believe I first joined the Park Ridge Parks Friends of the Parks Foundation back in 2012! The early days of the foundation involved the minutiae of organizing a non-profit, including reviewing and updating the by-laws, creating a logo, recruiting volunteers, and taking the steps to legally change our foundation name to the Park Ridge Friends of the Parks. The last decade has been focused on supporting the Park Ridge Park District with the extras that are not covered by our tax dollars. When the Park Board has to make the difficult decisions each year about what to fund (or not) with our tax dollars, the Friends of the Parks board identifies ways to help accomplish our goal of providing quality recreational resources for all citizens of Park Ridge and preserving our green spaces
Our first major fundraiser was the 100 Trees for 100 Years, an effort coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Park Ridge Park District in 2014 to raise funds to plant 100 trees on Park District property to replace those lost to the ash borer and other decay. After accomplishing our goal, we changed the name to the Trees Forever fund to provide for the Park District to act on planting trees as needed. We started a scholarship fund for residents in need who want to participate in Park District programming - we have averaged about $4,000/per year over the last decade helping many people access programming from preschool through senior citizens. We also contribute annually to a licensed, clinical social worker at the Centennial Activity Center (formerly the Senior Center). Our foundation ran a multi-year capital campaign to fund the building of the Outdoor Nature Classroom located at Maine Park Leisure Center for our littlest learners which was completed just before the recent coronavirus pandemic. Across the street from the outdoor classroom is the Wildwood Nature Center, where our donations helped with the animal habitats. We recently purchased timers and a scoreboard for the Park District's Riptides Swim Team (we'll post action photos of it in use this summer!). We are currently fundraising for scoreboards at the new Oakton Sports Complex.
After a few years of fundraising trial and error, we've focused on two major annual events to accomplish our goals: the annual spring bike sale (schedule for April 26th this year!) and the fall Trivia Night (November 8th). We also receive funding through generous donations from Park Ridge residents, and our memberships. A special thank you to our lifetime members: Paul and Pat Adlaf, Elena Demos Aridas, Jack and Diane Barnette, Cynthia and Scott Grau, Brian Matza, Jennifer Mikulina & Brian Bordini, James O'Brien, Mr. and Mrs. James O'Donnell, and John Tunnell.
Our exceptional, all-volunteer board enthusiastically spends their free time helping make Park Ridge the premier suburb that it is today. We always welcome new members or volunteers. Come join us!
