Grannies show initiative with park fundraiser
October 31, 2011 6:40PM
Gay Riseborough (left), president and chair of the Grandmother Park committee, joins Jen Goldstein, the committee’s secretary, at the Whole Foods 5 percent day. Both are from Evanston.
BENEFITING: The Grandmother Park Initiative
DATE: Aug. 31, 2011
LOCATION: 1125 Dewey, Evanston
ATTENDED: unavailable
RAISED: $3,500
Article Extras
Updated: November 8, 2011 5:29PM
The Grandmother Park Initiative, a nonprofit initiative with a mission of developing a small park for toddlers and their families at 1125 Dewey in Evanston, was a recipient of a summer Whole Foods 5 percent day. On these special shopping days Whole Foods donates 5 percent of gross receipts for the day to the designated charity.
Held Aug. 31, the event generated nearly $3,500 for the project.
The plan to create a tot lot was conceived three years ago by Gay Riseborough and her friend, Mary Trujillo, after a walk through their west Evanston neighborhood revealed there was no play area for their grandchildren.
Riseborough, president and chair of the Grandmother Park, held a summer block party in Evanston to gauge neighborhood interest, and the group grew from there. The Grandmother Park Initiative partnered with Openlands, a nonprofit conservation organization that purchased the 32-foot-by-166-foot lot at 1125 Dewey. It is holding the space for the group as money is raised to purchase playground equipment and develop the lot into a park.
To learn more about the Grandmother Park Initiative, visit grandmotherpark.org or call (847) 475-5159.
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