Sunday, May 23, 2010
Fairmount Park Funds
Throughout our numerous ventures into Fairmount Park this term, a few of the volunteers we met mentioned the Park's shortage of funds. Originally, this statement wasn't particularly surprising. After all, almost everyone in the United States has been suffering from the economic downturn this past year. However, after reading this article I became particularly concerned. Turns out the city of Philadelphia spends the least amount of money on it's park system, compared to other big cities around the nation. In fact, Rittenhouse Square is funded almost completely by an independent organization known as the Friends of Rittenhouse Square. Unfortunately, even this group is struggling to find the funds to keep Rittenhouse alive. The Friends of Rittenhouse Square rely primarily on member donations. With the downturn in the economy, these donations have become increasingly scarce. The organization is now trying to find a way to keep Rittenhouse as a prosperous park. They are even considering allowing food concessions into the park. After reading this article, I became very upset with the small budget the city provides for Fairmount Park. What do you think?
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I agree, it's a shame. One thing that helps a unit get more funding is when the people ask for it. The squeaky wheel does get the grease. The Fairmount Parks Alliance, http://www.philaparks.org/ regularly sends out emails to try to get people to speak up for Fairmount and get more funding. I encourage you to sign up and add your voice to the call for more funding for Fairmount Park. There is a call for support right now.
ReplyDeleteI read that article yesterday, and was just going to write about it lol. but that is a serious problem and it definitely surprised me.
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