A Letter from Pauline Drake, Steering Committee Chair of Jennie Drake Park
Dear Park Supporter,
The Friends of Jennie Drake Park want to thank you for your contribution to Park Pride, a group whose support we’ve received since we formed a “Friends” group a few years ago. Since the beginning, their staff has done a great job in guiding us through several stages in developing the park.
2003
Northwest Atlanta resident, Jennie Drake, organized her neighbors in an effort to conserve 4-acres of undeveloped land at Waterford Rd. By 2011, all parcels of land are acquired as a greenspace by the City of Atlanta.
2012
The park is named in memory of Jennie Drake, and neighbors organize a Friends of the Park Group. They apply for and are selected by Park Pride to develop a vision for their park.
2012 – 2013
Friends of Jennie Drake Park and other Collier Heights residents come together throughout the year to discuss their needs, dreams, and priorities for the park.
2013
After eight months and several public meetings facilitated by Park Pride, community consensus is reached, and the conceptual park master plan for Jennie Drake Park is finalized.
We went through the Visioning process. Later, we received financial support through two grants, a Small Change Grant and then a Community Building Grant in 2014.
Another benefit has been the association with other “Friends” groups at the annual Parks & Greenspace Conferences, PARC meetings and other events. No less important, we have benefited on three occasions from volunteer efforts coordinated by John Ahern, Park Pride’s Volunteer Manager.
2014
Friends of Jennie Drake Park participate in Park Pride’s Pops in Parks event, bringing neighborhood families out to introduce them to the developing park with help from King of Pops.
2015
The Friends of Jennie Drake Park install a seating and welcoming area in the park, supported by a Park Pride Community Building Grant and matched dollar-for-dollar by funds raised by the community through a brick sale.The Friends group and the community celebrate the new park entrance with an official ribbon cutting ceremony.Friends of Jennie Drake Park take advantage of all aspects of Park Pride programming. Members regularly attend monthly Parks Atlanta Rescue Coalition (PARC) meetings to learn from and network with park enthusiasts.
In the most recent workday coordinated by Park Pride on October 29th, more than 100 volunteers from a local company, plus team leaders from the Friends of Jennie Drake Park, turned out for a major development effort. The volunteers had eight projects and fewer than five hours to complete them! John did a superb job of coordinating all the parts. We are grateful to have benefited from his leadership, organizational skills, commitment and experience.
October 29, 2015
Volunteers build and install park benches, a bridge that crosses the park’s creek, and a raised gravel path, in addition to completing a large-scale trash cleanup and invasive species removal, the creation of a new park entrance, and multiple other projects throughout the park.
If we had not made the connection with Park Pride, I doubt that we would have accomplished as much as we have in the development of the Jennie Drake Park.
YOUR support of Park Pride helps groups like ours accomplish this much, motivating us to continue to achieve our vision and more.
Sincerely,
The Friends of Jennie Drake Park
Friends of Jennie Drake Park and Park Pride take a moment after the recent volunteer day to celebrate a job well done.
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