In This Issue

Remembering Jeanne Alexander
NPC's Meeting with the Mayor
NPC's 2010 Luncheon
Many Hands Make Great Parks
Playfields Summer Events
Playground Initiative Workdays
ParkScan: Love Your Park

Donate now to support our Playground Initiative!

By donating today to our Playground Match Campaign the Mimi and Peter Haas Fund will generously match your gift dollar-for-dollar.

 

I Love My Park
Click here to read an interview with two McKinley Square users

June Events
See NPC's Calendar

6/12: Silver Terrace Bubble Day 1:00pm

6/13: Garfield Square Soccer Day 11:00am

6/19: Mission Community Block Party 11:00am

6/19: Dolores Park Playground Sippy Cups Fundraiser 4:00pm

6/24: NPC's Annual Meeting with the Mayor, RSVP Required, 9:00am

6/25: South Sunset Movie Night 4:00pm

6/27: Help McLaren Park Pancake Breakfast 9:00am

Summer Camp Info!  
Summer Rec Offerings
Shakespeare Camp at McLaren

Sippy Cups at Dolores Park!

Friends of Dolores Park Playground in partnership with NPC and Rec and Park, is pleased to announce a benefit event for the renovation of the Dolores Park playground featuring the Sippy Cups on June 19th.The event is sponsored by Whole Foods.

NEN Gets Clean & Green
Click here to read about the Neighborhood Empowerment Network's recent summit
 

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Friends,

The date for our annual Meeting with the Mayor has been set--June 24th. Please read the section below to find out how you can communicate with the Mayor, RPD General Manager Ginsburg, and the RPD Commission about your parks.

We are still working hard to meet our Playground Initiative Matching Challenge! Dollar-for-dollar your gift will be matched by the Mimi and Peter Haas Fund to help ensure that every child had a safe, clean and fun place to play in San Francisco. Won’t you help? Click here to support our work.

Finally, I would like to express my sadness over the loss of NPC’s dear friend, Jeanne Alexander. Jeanne wrote park histories so that as we move forward in our efforts to ensure San Francisco has world-class parks, we stay rooted firmly in their history. It was George Santayana who wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." I would add that Jeanne helped us capture our park histories in a way that allows us to pick the successes to repeat and the pitfalls to avoid. Parks and open space are too precious not to manage thoughtfully with lessons from our past. Thank you, Jeanne.

Meredith Thomas
Executive Director
 

In Loving Memory, the Park Purist, Jeanne Alexander 

NPC's board of directors and staff would like to take a moment to remember Jeanne Alexander, one of our most dedicated volunteers. 

Jeanne volunteered with NPC for nearly a decade. Her knowledge and ability to help readers visualize the history of our city’s parks was one of a kind. Having written nearly 100 park historic profiles, her astuteness and storytelling skills will always be remembered in NPC’s archives.

NPC's Annual Meeting with the Mayor
June 24, 2010: City Hall, 9:00am, RSVP Required

Each year NPC convenes a park stakeholders meeting with the Mayor, the RPD General Manager, and RPD Commissioners to review the current state of our parks. We address improvements to the system as well as current challenges. This annual meeting is an opportunity to hear from  the Mayor and his staff about the year ahead. NPC also presents key issues that reflect feedback from our coalition. The questionnaire you fill out when you click to RSVP will help us prepare this feedback. There will also be a question and answer portion.

Space is limited, so we ask that only two representatives from each group attend. This will allow us to have the most park groups possible in attendance. Click here to RSVP. If you cannot attend but would like to add feedback or questions, please click here.

Thanks to Our 2010 Luncheon Sponsors & Attendees

In late May, several hundred new friends came together at the Sailor’s Union for one hour over lunch to celebrate our communities and share our wonderful achievements in San Francisco’s neighborhood parks. See photos here. We extend our warmest thanks to all who attended and to our generous sponsors.

Many Hands Make Great Parks
A Blog Post Written by NPC Outreach Coordinator, Matt Silva

Like our city's neighborhoods, San Francisco's parks are diverse, appealing, experience challenges, and most of all have the support of thousands of dedicated neighbors and volunteers. Our very own Matt Silva discusses the amazing work San Franciscans (that's you!) are doing in over 240 parks citywide. Read the full piece at www.empowersf.org.

Playfield Stewardship Initiative's Summer Events

Few things capture the attention of both young and old like bubbles. So simple, yet so undeniably entertaining. With that in mind, the Neighborhood Parks Council, Recreation and Park Department, City Fields Foundation and Friends of Silver Terrace Park are hosting a "Bubble Day" on Saturday, June 12th at 1pm.
 

As school lets out for the summer youth are eager for play time! The Playfields Stewardship Initiative wants to give local kids the opportunity to exercise and play outside. To encourage such healthy active play, the Initiative is hosting a Free Soccer Day on June 13, 2010 at Garfield Square Park (11am).
 

Miss the days when your whole family would pile into the car and roll into your community drive-in theater, eager for salty popcorn and big laughs? Well, we're bringing back the family movie night charm on June 25, 2010 at the South Sunset Playground Clubhouse by hosting a Free Movie Night.
 

Playground Initiative Workdays Planned in June

At NPC, our dream is for every playground in San Francisco to be safe and fun. Sadly, our 2010 Playground Report Card shows that 46 of San Francisco's playgrounds have a C, D, or F grade. 

In June, staff volunteers from Genentech, San Francisco Federal Credit Union, and Cornerstone Research are stepping up to revitalize four of these needy neighborhood playgrounds. It's amazing how just a few hours and many hands can make huge strides towards keeping our children safe!

You too can join together with friends or coworkers for a playground workday this summer! To arrange a workday for your group, email playgrounds@sfnpc.org.

ParkScan: Love Your Park by Reporting Issues

Park staff cannot address maintenance issues unless they are aware of them. Sadly, staffing shortages and budget cuts mean that not every park is visited by maintenance staff every day.

Help improve your park by reporting issues on ParkScan as soon as you observe them! Next time you’re visiting your favorite park keep an eye out for graffiti, litter and dumping, broken or damaged equipment, and water drainage problems. Together we can keep our parks clean and safe! Better parks are only a mouse click away!