Prospect Park

The Daily Plant : Thursday, March 6, 2003

MANY HANDS MAKE PROSPECT PARK SHINE

Ever wonder why Prospect Park always looks so good? Here’s a clue: Last year, the park received nearly 6,000 volunteer visits, which totaled over 30,000 hours in extra care for the park. The most dedicated of these volunteers were honored on Saturday, March 1, at a thank-you luncheon and awards ceremony hosted by the Prospect Park Volunteers. Over 100 volunteers attended the luncheon along with Parks & Recreation staff and Council Member Joan Millman. Tupper Thomas, Administrator of Prospect Park, called the event a great success, saying that "the room was filled with people who love Prospect Park as much as me and my staff. It was really fun to be in a beautiful place with such enthusiastic people."

The Prospect Park Volunteers is one of the largest and most diverse park volunteer program in the country. One of the reasons the program has been so successful is that it gives people of all ages the chance to do many different kinds of work for the park. Volunteers are encouraged to put their natural talents and abilities to good use and so volunteers can be found doing everything from manual labor to gardening to clerical work to fundraising. Frances Shaw has taken on the task of maintaining a database of all the Prospect Park volunteers. Alan Thomson has even adopted a section of this park--the Vale of Cashmere--as his own. He has taken personal responsibility for this site, picking up trash, emptying the trash cans, and weeding. He takes care of the park as though it were his own backyard.

On Saturday, volunteers were recognized for the number of hours they spent working for Prospect Park. Everyone invited to the luncheon had donated at least ten hours of service (over 300 people were invited, in total), and awards were given to those who had donated anywhere from 12-200 hours of service. A special "Administrator’s Award" was given to any volunteer who had, in his or her lifetime, donated over 500 hours of service. This year, in an all-time high, seven people qualified for an Administrator’s Award. In total, an estimated 2,500 people volunteered for the Park, another all-time high. Tupper Thomas attributed the high number to the efforts of The Prospect Park Volunteers in recruiting corporate groups, noting that Goldman Sachs, in particular, put over 1,000 volunteers in the park.

Awards aside, the luncheon was fun for all involved. Attendees enjoyed a fully catered meal, donated by Salsa Caterers and Special Events. Mary Carmosino provided the entertainment, playing a number of popular and contemporary songs on the piano before the meal began. The picnic house was decorated and volunteers were invited to take the centerpieces home at the end of the afternoon. The luncheon also gave volunteers the chance to meet each other and learn about the breadth of volunteer activities in the park, and to gear up for another spring and summer of volunteer work.

"The more the marble wastes, the more the statue grows."

(March 6, 1475-1564)