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NEWSLETTER: April 2016
In this issue:
Rotary PlayGarden Anniversary
Can you believe that it has been nearly one year - and 150,000 visitors - since the PlayGarden opened to the public?! To commemorate that milestone and to raise funds for the continued maintenance of the park, we will be holding an event on Saturday, May 21st. Mark your calendars - details to follow.
We are thrilled to report that the Lennox Foundation awarded $20,000 towards salaries for our gate attendants as part of a larger grant to our education program. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Norris family!
Mother's Day Adopt a Rose
It's not too early to adopt a rose for Mother's Day! A bouquet of roses will last a week, but a rose bush will bloom throughout the year. With your donation of $50 (no package) or $60 (with package), we will help you select the perfect rose and prepare a gift box for your Mom.
More information here.
Parks & Open Space Updates
D3 Decides, an exercise in participatory budgeting, allows District 3 voters choose how to allocate $100,000. Trail user Bert Weaver has proposed funding to repaint the center stripe on the Guadalupe River Trail. If you are a D3 resident, please consider voting for this item! Click here to read more about D3 Decides.
PBS is airing "10 Parks That Changed America" on Tuesday, April 12th. The hour-long film focuses on ten city parks that have had a significant impact on urban culture.
Santa Clara County Open Space Authority is hosting a series of evening meetings to solicit ideas about its new Urban Open Space Program. GRPC Executive Director Leslee Hamilton will help facilitate the meeting on April 26th at Santa Clara University. For a list of all the meetings, click here.
Staff Updates
We are pleased to introduce our new Volunteer Coordinator Rick Davis (right). Rick brings a breadth of experience from working as a Senior Recreation Leader for the City of Cupertino to a stint at REI to managing a martial arts studio. We encourage you to join us in getting to know Rick!
We were very fortunate to have the assistance of Lucy Perez (left), our former volunteer coordinator of 12 years, in managing workdays during the transition and onboarding Rick. Thanks, Lucy, and welcome Rick!
Volunteer Corner
This group of students from SJSU waged a heroic battle against weeds - go Spartans!
An equally spirited group of Cisco volunteers helped with seasonal pruning in the Heritage Rose Garden.
A hearty thanks to all the volunteer groups that toiled to make GRPG a more beautiful place this past February:
Cisco Systems
Creekside School
Friends of Children with Special Needs
Hands on Bay Area
HOPE Services
LDS San Jose Missionaries
Milpitas High School Key Club
Mission Bay
Morgan Autism Center
Santa Clara County Office of Education
South Bay Heritage Rose Group
And that is only the groups! We also appreciate the scores of individuals who come out weekly to make a difference. We logged 1,457 volunteer hours in February.
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunties
- Rose Garden Workdays
Weds. and Sats. 8:30-11:30 am. More info.
- Monthly River Clean Up
Sat. April 16th, 8:30-11:30 am. Sign up.
- Historic Orchard Volunteer Workday
Sat. April 2nd, 8:30-11:30 am. Sign up.
Meet Volunteer Layla Loens
 Layla volunteers weekly to staff our front desk. In addition to volunteering, she also enjoys reading; her favorite genre is mystery novels. When she's not in the office, you will find Layla and her 11-year-old son hiking the trails here at the river park. Thanks, Layla, for your continued support! |
