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Atlanta, GA, November 15, 2018 – Park Pride, the Atlanta-based nonprofit that engages communities to activate the power of parks, received a $35,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente to promote healthier communities on Atlanta’s Westside.
Both organizations recognize that great parks increase the quality of life and health of individuals living in urban settings. Park Pride’s leadership and services help diverse communities take a smarter, more active role in their parks to promote active lifestyles, strong neighborhoods, and a healthy environment.
Park Pride’s programs build the capacity of communities to enhance their quality of life through greenspace advocacy, volunteerism, and capital improvements. The Friends of the Park Program helps groups to identify priority projects for their park, and provides volunteers, tools, materials, training, and funding to achieve their goals. Community gardens provide a forum for neighbors to join together and forge strong community bonds. They beautify the landscape and are a source of fresh, local, and healthy produce for neighbors. Park Pride has supported the establishment of 22 community gardens in City of Atlanta parks. Additionally, the Volunteer Program facilitates over 23,000 volunteer hours annually, improving and beautifying community parks and greenspaces across the cities of Atlanta, Brookhaven, Tucker, and unincorporated DeKalb County.
The Kaiser Permanente grant awarded to Park Pride will support the growing needs of the Friends of the Park groups on Atlanta’s Westside, providing educational workshops, reference and resource materials, and fostering a culture of learning and capacity building within the groups. The award will also enhance the nonprofit’s volunteer efforts in Westside neighborhoods and the sharing of resources to support community garden participation and success.
“This Kaiser Permanente grant supports Park Pride’s mission, allowing us to reach more people through the Friends of the Park Program and provide the resources needed to activate the benefits of parks on Atlanta’s Westside,” stated Michael Halicki, Park Pride’s executive director. “Kaiser has demonstrated their commitment to Atlanta’s health, and we’re so grateful for their support of our efforts to improve and activate parks and greenspace.”
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About Park Pride
Founded in 1989, Park Pride is the Atlanta-based nonprofit that engages communities to activate the power of parks. Working with over 110 local Friends of the Park groups, Park Pride provides leadership and services to help communities realize their dreams for neighborhood parks that support healthy people, strong neighborhoods, vibrant business districts, a robust economy and a healthy environment. Park Pride is active in greenspace advocacy and educating both civic leaders and the public about the benefits of parks, and annually hosts the Parks and Greenspace Conference. Learn more about Park Pride at parkpride.org.
About Kaiser Permanente:
Kaiser Permanente is committed to shaping the future of health care and is recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of its members and the communities it serves. Care is focused on members’ total health and is guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists and team of health care providers. Expert and caring medical staff are supported by industry-leading technology and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Nationally, Kaiser Permanente serves more than 12.2 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia and operates 39 hospitals and more than 680 medical office buildings. As Georgia’s largest non-profit health plan, Kaiser Permanente has 375,00 members in 28 counties in metro Atlanta and four counties near Athens. For more information, visit kp.org/georgia.