Volunteers in Parks Program

Become a volunteer to improve your park, children’s playground or forest preserve through Friends of the Parks’ Volunteers in Parks (VIP) Program.  There are four ways to get involved in this annual program including

• Annual environmental events:  Earth Day, April 16, 2011, Global Youth Service Day, April 30, 2011  and National Public Lands Day; September 24, 2011
• Community Service Work Days
• Adopt-a-Park
• Stewardship Education.

 Highlights of each of our initiatives are as follows:

 1)     Annual Environmental Events: Friends of the Parks will host the 22nd annual Earth Day Citywide Parks & Preserves Clean-Up on Saturday, April 16 2011, from 9:00 a.m. to noon.  Nearly 3,000 volunteers are expected to clean and green more than 90 parks and 25 Cook County Forest Preserves.  On September 24, 2011, another 900 volunteers regularly participate in Friends of the Parks’ Natural Public Lands Clean-Up Day working to restore natural areas in the Chicago/Cook County region. 

2)     Community Service Work Days: During the year, Friends of the Parks organizes and hosts approximately 40 community service days with corporations, universities, businesses.  Volunteers come together to clean and green parks and preserves.  These efforts generally provide approximately $150,000 in work hours to the Park and Forest Preserve Districts.  If your company or group is looking to give back to our local environment, consider this great opportunity. 

3)  Adopt-A-Park/Adopt-A-Preserve:  FOTP also maintains an Adopt-A-Park program in partnership with the Chicago Park District.  Nearly 90 new or renewed parks or preserves have been adopted as part of the Adopt-A-Park Program.

4) Stewardship Education: Throughout the year, Friends of the Parks collaborates with the Chicago Public Schools to serve as a sponsor for their Service Learning program, in which high school students earn service learning hours toward graduation by volunteering to work in parks on greening and environmental projects. 

Contact Mary Eileen Sullivan at 312.857.2757 ext. 13 or at sullivanme@fotp.org