Your Chapter can earn when someone buys a Siesta Beach Paver

Friends of Sarasota County Parks, Inc.
234 Nippino Trail E.
Nokomis, Florida 34275
foscpnews@gmail.com
941 275-9397

There are so many ways to volunteer.

The skill sets of Sarasotans are amazingly deep and varied, and the curiosity of our residents — young, older and in-between — is endless.

Why not give it a try? On the County’sVolunteer Page, you’ll see many existing

Even better, bring your own creativity. Do you know a little something about owls, or mushrooms, or growing veggies? How about the history of parks? Fishing? Stormclouds? Fitness? Create your own volunteer opportunity!

Fill out an application online, then Email Vickie or Brenda, the coordinators who’ll work with you to be a successful contributor, keeping our parks and community active, stimulating, and always new.

                     

Expanded ballfields . . . drinking fountains along the Legacy Trail . . . more RV parks . . . those are a few of the many suggestions offered by those at the Friends’ All Chapters meeting on June 25th. The County is seeking the public’s input on priorities for our parks and facilities, and its “Master Plan” survey is open until July 5th.Take the survey online here and help shape the future of Sarasota’s public spaces.

More suggestions at the meeting includedkayak storage . . . fishing ponds for kids … How about open wifi in parks?

All Chapters Attendees

Folks also heard about the Friends’ grant writing initiative that would spearhead the effort to install shade structures in athletic fields countywide. The Friends is formally committed to becoming a self-supporting nonprofit by developing earned income plans.

That’s how Friends’ fundraiser Carol Kranitz described the first three weeks of the Friends’ Siesta Beach Paver program. In that brief time 60 pavers have been ordered – the orders are coming from all over the US, she says.

Chapters who get the word out about the Pavers can benefit, Carol added. If a purchaser mentions that a particular Chapter was responsible for her or his purchase of a Paver, a portion of the proceeds can go to the referrer.

Among the messages received that will be found on a Paver: a marriage proposal. 

Click the image to learn more . . .

The Friends currently has some 40 chapters ranging variously in size and mission. Some, like the Friends of theCarlton Reserve, have one location; others, like the Paw Parks, are countywide.

When you hear, as we did at the All Chapters meeting, that one Chapter – TheEnglewood Farmers Market – had 130,000 visitors last season, you begin to get a sense of the scale of the public reach of the Friends of Sarasota County Parks.

And where some have that direct encounter with the public, others likeCulverhouse Community Garden are experimenting with growing techniquesand developing methodological resourcesavailable for free on their websites.

The variety, public contact and opportunity for a fun niche in the many Chapter activities of the Friends are plentiful. Why not volunteer and see for yourself? Or, if you’re passionate about a park or recreational activity that’s not among the current Chapters, you can always start your own.

A few FOSCP stats Jan-May