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Causes: Arts & Culture, Children & Youth, Environment, Parks & Playgrounds, Youth Development Programs
Mission: At city parks foundation ("cpf"), we are dedicated to invigorating and transforming parks into dynamic, vibrant centers of urban life through sports, arts, community building and education programs for all new yorkers. Our programs - located in more than 350 parks, recreation centers and public schools across new york city - reach 425,000 people each year. Our ethos is simple: thriving parks mean thriving communities.
Programs: Arts & culture: cityparks shows brings hundreds of live music, dance and theater performances to communities throughout new york city's five boroughs. The summerstage festival presents over 100 free performances and benefit concerts each year in 16 parks throughout the city, ranging from american pop, latin and world music to dance, spoken word and theater. The swedish cottage marionette theatre, home to one of the last public marionette companies in the us, presents modern takes on classic fairytales, and the traveling puppetmobile presents family-friendly puppet shows and workshops outdoors around the city, free of charge.
sports: cityparks play activates new york's neighborhood parks with free sports programs for kids, including tennis, soccer, golf, track & field, and multi sport instruction, as well as fitness classes for seniors. We help new yorkers stay active and healthy, discover new sports, and make new friends.
partnerships for parks: partnerships for parks ("pfp"), a joint program with nyc's department of parks & recreation, promotes community involvement in parks by building, linking and strengthening a citywide constituency of parks' supporters. Each year pfp supports and empowers a growing network of 600 community groups and volunteers dedicated to promoting their local parks and improving the surrounding communities. Through direct engagement, intensive training and technical assistance, and practical toolkits, we enable citizens to play an active and effective role in decisions regarding their local green spaces. This year, nearly 1,100 clean-up events in parks have engaged 25,000 volunteers, improving over 360 individual parks. Pfp provides over 700 volunteers with leadership training, and distributes grants each year to local park groups.