SECOND ANNUAL SPRING INTO SUMMER FUNDRAISING LUNCHEON TO TAKE PLACE THURSDAY, JUNE 16
BUFFALO, NY – The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy will present its second annual Spring into Summer fundraising luncheon on Thursday, June 16, both to recognize community and Conservancy supporters and to raise awareness of the organization’smission.
“Our second annual luncheon brings together the Conservancy with its many partners, from the city to corporations, foundations and most importantly our many park users in the community,” said Stephanie Crockatt, Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy’s executive director. “The goal is to kick off the park season and raise the funding necessary to support the green infrastructure of Buffalo. We take great pride in our award-winning parks, and together we will ensure their legacy for all to enjoy.”
When Frederick Law Olmsted was commissioned to design a park for Buffalo in 1868, it was business and community leader William Dorsheimer who issued the invitation. On Thursday, the Conservancy will present an award in Dorsheimer’s name to the Restore Our Community Coalition (ROCC).
The William Dorsheimer Community Partner Award recognizes commitment to park stewardship, community bridge-building and the legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted. The ROCC is a 501(c)(3) organization that is dedicated to the revitalization of neighborhoods along Humboldt Parkway. The organization plans and implements activities and educational outreach to the Buffalo community, and encourages stakeholders to invest public dollars to restore Humboldt Parkway.
Olmsted designed Humboldt Parkway as a way to connect Delaware Park to Parade Park (now MLK Jr. Park) without having to leave the park system. The parkway and its six rows of stately trees were torn up in the late 1950s to make way for construction of the Kensington and Scajaquada expressways. The ROCC was established in 2007 with the primary goal of restoring the parkland that was destroyed. The organization includes members from the Conservancy as well as the Hamlin Park Tax Payers Association, the Buffalo Museum of Science and the Black Chamber of Commerce in order to achieve this goal.
Volunteer of the Year Awards will be given to Kathleen Walter and Bill Harden. Over the past four years, the husband and wife have volunteered at the Conservancy in a variety of roles. They’ve done whatever has been asked of them, from cleaning and filing to greeting guests at Conservancy events. Living close to Delaware Park, the avid park users agree that volunteering is a way to contribute to a park system that has become an important part of their lives.
Event sponsors include Bank of America, BlueCross BlueShield of WNY, M&T Bank, Rich Products, Wegmans, Colucci & Gallaher PC, Hodgson Russ, ECMC, and MassMutual. Janis Dunworth and Christine Wiktor are chairwomen of the event. Heather Ly of WGRZ Channel 2 Daybreak will be the M.C.
The luncheon will take place at 11:30 a.m. Thursday in the Mary Seaton Room of Kleinhans Music Hall, one of the Conservancy’s cultural partners. The venue’s location on Symphony Circle is part of Buffalo’s historic system of Olmsted parks and parkways. Guests will don their smartest spring hat or bow tie and share what their Olmsted park gives them. The luncheon is sold out; donations may be made to the Conservancy by visitingbfloparks.wpengine.com, or by calling 716-838-1249, extension 10.
Proceeds from the second annual Spring into Summer luncheon will benefit the Conservancy, which cares for Buffalo’s treasured Olmsted landscapes – the first complete urban system of parks, parkways and landscaped circles in the country.
ABOUT THE BUFFALO OLMSTED PARKS CONSERVANCY
The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy is the first nonprofit organization in the nation to manage and operate an entire urban park system that consists of 850 acres of beautifully designed parks, parkways and circles. The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy is a not-for-profit, membership-based, community organization whose mission is to promote, preserve, restore, enhance, and maintain the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed parks and parkways in the Greater Buffalo area for current and future generations. More than 2.5 million people use Buffalo’s historic, award-winning Olmsted Park System annually for recreation, relaxation and rejuvenation. The parks were designed by America’s first landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, more than 145 years ago. Basic maintenance of the parks has been greatly improved since the groundbreaking public/private agreement with the City of Buffalo and Erie County in 2004. Since that time, the Olmsted Parks Conservancy, now partnering with the City of Buffalo, has retained full responsibility for the management and care of these green spaces, which are listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places. In 2014, the American Planning Association recognized Delaware Park as one of the Great Places in America. Last year, The Guardian named the Olmsted park system one of the top ten parks in the world.
The Olmsted Park System includes:
The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy is the first nonprofit organization in the nation to manage and operate an entire urban park system that consists of 850 acres of beautifully designed parks, parkways and circles. The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy is a not-for-profit, membership-based, community organization whose mission is to promote, preserve, restore, enhance, and maintain the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed parks and parkways in the Greater Buffalo area for current and future generations. More than 2.5 million people use Buffalo’s historic, award-winning Olmsted Park System annually for recreation, relaxation and rejuvenation. The parks were designed by America’s first landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, more than 145 years ago. Basic maintenance of the parks has been greatly improved since the groundbreaking public/private agreement with the City of Buffalo and Erie County in 2004. Since that time, the Olmsted Parks Conservancy, now partnering with the City of Buffalo, has retained full responsibility for the management and care of these green spaces, which are listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places. In 2014, the American Planning Association recognized Delaware Park as one of the Great Places in America. Last year, The Guardian named the Olmsted park system one of the top ten parks in the world.
The Olmsted Park System includes:
Six Parks: Cazenovia Park in South Buffalo, Delaware Park in Delaware/Parkside District,
Front Park at the Peace Bridge, Martin Luther King Jr. Park at Fillmore Avenue, Riverside
Park at Niagara and Tonawanda Street, and South Park at McKinley Parkway
Seven Parkways: Bidwell, Chapin, Lincoln, McKinley, Porter, Red Jacket, and Richmond
Eight Landscaped Circles: Agassiz, Colonial, Ferry, Gates, McClellan, McKinley, Soldiers, and Symphony
Front Park at the Peace Bridge, Martin Luther King Jr. Park at Fillmore Avenue, Riverside
Park at Niagara and Tonawanda Street, and South Park at McKinley Parkway
Seven Parkways: Bidwell, Chapin, Lincoln, McKinley, Porter, Red Jacket, and Richmond
Eight Landscaped Circles: Agassiz, Colonial, Ferry, Gates, McClellan, McKinley, Soldiers, and Symphony
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