What is Mount Vernon Parks Foundation?

Mount Vernon Parks Foundation (MVPF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to improving the Mount Vernon’s parks and recreational facilities and to expanding recreational opportunities in and around the city of Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon Parks Foundation accepts tax deductible donations from businesses and private individuals wishing to support projects and places managed by the Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation Department. We focus the interest and enthusiasm of the community to support unfunded and under-funded parks and trails projects through:

• Fund-raising campaigns for specific parks and trails projects

• Community grant programs that provide capital funding for capital costs for parks, trails and recreational programs

• Supporting programs that provide Mount Vernon’s youth with work-learn opportunities that improve our trails and parks

• Facilitation of new trail connections made possible through trail easement agreements with generous private property owners

• Fiscal sponsorship for community-led park-related initiatives

BUILDING COMMUNITY CORNERSTONES

Parks benefit all of us by giving people free space to grow closer, get active, and grow. Here are some of the many reasons that local parks benefit you, your neighbors, and your greater community.

COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION 

Parks bring out people into the community. Their activities help draw business to build around popular areas. With long-term planning for parks, businesses feel safer risking investment. Leadership helps spur growth of the community through jobs, activity space, and events. When we all play together as a community, it builds the bonds for us to work together as a community.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 

The best way to get investment into an area is to have people active in the community and ready to spend dollars within that community. With a park drawing locals out into the community, it drives investment in building business around that shared space. If the park space is designed for activities, there can even be the drive of outside communities entering for events and bolstering economic growth. When we have events at Edgewater, it brings in new businesses and helps bolster ones in the area.

CREATE SAFER NEIGHBORHOODS 

An active community is a safer community. With more people out, crime becomes more difficult to commit. With more people comes more community engagement, lessening the desire for crime. By spending time playing and participating in shared space with neighbors, we invest ourselves in the relationships that grow through that. Parks help create these opportunities.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 

Shared space brings communities together. From concerts, to sports games, to picnics in the park, when we come out together, we unite. Being able to spend time with your neighbors is the best way to get to know the people who live around you, what they need, and what is best for the community. The Farmer’s Market brings people to the waterfront and engaging on many civic opportunities. Events at Bakerview bring many communities together to celebrate youth sports and more.

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE 

Green space improves air quality, quality of life, breaks up cityscapes, and promotes plant and animal habitat. Parks serve as escapes into nature that are not always easy to take. Parks can serve as habitat for migrating species, local species, and help sustain at-risk populations. These spaces can help protect plants that normally would not thrive in city areas.

HELP CHILDREN LEARN 

With parks, we can provide many experiences that a city normally cannot. From simple forays into nature, such as what we offer on Little Mountain, to unique swan migration grounds, parks keep learning fresh and fun. Breaking away from a classroom to get outdoor education is valuable for the health and wellness of students. It allows them new ways to learn while participating in the community around them.

PROMOTE PUBLIC HEALTH 

Green space creates cleaner air, but it also opens up areas for exercise and activities. Being able to play sports, go for walks, and participate in activities gets healthier people in the community. Getting the community active is the best way to cut down on health risks and see healthier neighbors. 

PROMOTE THE ARTS & CULTURAL PROGRAMS 

The Highland Games are just one of the many arts and cultural programs in the area that benefit from our parks. Many of our park facilities serve as home for concerts, theatre, and offer a place for musicians to practice and perform outside. The events we can put on in the Skagit Valley parks give the arts chances to thrive in this community both in parks and beyond.

TOURISM 

Great parks bring people to us. This can be soccer games and tournaments. It can be from events at Edgewater like The Highland Games or Frisbee Golf tournaments. It can be mountain biking on Little Mountain. When we maintain excellent parks, it makes people want to experience our community and bring their dollars into the area.

SMART GROWTH 

Communities always grow and planning smart park systems help foster that growth. When neighborhoods grow, parks make them more attractive to buyers. Diverse activities mean we bring in people from all walks of life to help build up our neighborhoods. When we plan parks, we plan how we want our community to interact and grow. We plan activities, celebrations, what we protect, what we grow, and who we are and will be. 

Board

QUALIFICATIONS

Past experience with volunteering, board membership, or possess a special knowledge set they can contribute to the Foundation's mission.

REQUIREMENTs

• Articulate a clear interest in the vision, mission & purpose of MVPF.

• Regular meeting attendance

• Support at MVPF functions such as fundraising, networking, etc.

Inquire