WDC News 2010
February 9, 2010
Waterfront Park Clean Team Funded Through 2012
Thorntons Inc. challenge grant successfully met
As the result of a challenge grant issued by Thorntons Inc. and met by 60 donors, the Clean Team will operate for the next three summers in Waterfront Park. Thorntons CEO Matt Thornton, who is also the Chairman of the Waterfront Development Corporation Board of Directors, issued the challenge last fall when WDC staff began pursuing funding for the program for 2010.
Mayor Jerry Abramson lauded donors at the announcement today. “This is the kind of public/private partnership that we have come to celebrate as the norm in Metro Louisville,” said Abramson. “It’s what makes Louisville such a special place to live.”
“We issued this challenge with the confidence that the community would step up,” said Thornton. “The public has been so supportive of Waterfront Park from the very beginning, and we knew they would respond to help fund the Clean Team.”
The Thorntons Clean Team will begin work in late May and continue through mid-September. Construction Solutions, a local construction management operation, pledged $35,000 and will be the named sponsor of the Clean Team in 2011. The AEGON Transamerica Foundation (AEGON) donated $10,000, and two other donations for $5,000 each were received from Jean W. Frazier and from Bill & Lindy Street. A dozen additional donors gave between $1,000 and $2,500 each, and the remaining donations were for amounts ranging from $15 to $500 each. The resulting total is enough to fund the Clean Team program through 2012.
The Clean Team program provides jobs for local youth and helps keep the park sparkling and clean during its busiest season, from late May through mid-September. The program, which starts each year in late May and continues into September, employs 10-12 high school and college students, including several students provided by Project One, a community based non- profit organization that combines education and training with work experience. Several team members are assigned to the park’s two play areas, which are among the most popular and well-used spaces in Waterfront Park. Other team members will help with general park maintenance, litter control, weeding, and care of the park’s public garden area on Witherspoon. The Clean Team program costs $35,000 to operate each year.
“I’m in the park nearly every day, and I see the use it receives and the heavy toll that takes on maintenance,” said Construction Solutions president Clinton Deckard. “The Clean Team really makes a difference.” Construction Solutions has been Waterfront Park’s construction manager for a number of years, and they currently manage the Big Four Bridge ramp construction underway in the park.
The first Clean Team was funded by Kindred Healthcare in 2006, followed in 2007 by the AEGON Clean Team. Kindred partnered again in 2008, and AEGON was the 2009 sponsor. Friends of the Waterfront also provided donations to the program in 2008 and 2009.
More than 1.5 million people visit Waterfront Park annually, and the park hosts more than 150 events every year, the majority of those between April and October.
Thorntons Inc. challenge grant successfully met
As the result of a challenge grant issued by Thorntons Inc. and met by 60 donors, the Clean Team will operate for the next three summers in Waterfront Park. Thorntons CEO Matt Thornton, who is also the Chairman of the Waterfront Development Corporation Board of Directors, issued the challenge last fall when WDC staff began pursuing funding for the program for 2010.
Mayor Jerry Abramson lauded donors at the announcement today. “This is the kind of public/private partnership that we have come to celebrate as the norm in Metro Louisville,” said Abramson. “It’s what makes Louisville such a special place to live.”
“We issued this challenge with the confidence that the community would step up,” said Thornton. “The public has been so supportive of Waterfront Park from the very beginning, and we knew they would respond to help fund the Clean Team.”
The Thorntons Clean Team will begin work in late May and continue through mid-September. Construction Solutions, a local construction management operation, pledged $35,000 and will be the named sponsor of the Clean Team in 2011. The AEGON Transamerica Foundation (AEGON) donated $10,000, and two other donations for $5,000 each were received from Jean W. Frazier and from Bill & Lindy Street. A dozen additional donors gave between $1,000 and $2,500 each, and the remaining donations were for amounts ranging from $15 to $500 each. The resulting total is enough to fund the Clean Team program through 2012.
The Clean Team program provides jobs for local youth and helps keep the park sparkling and clean during its busiest season, from late May through mid-September. The program, which starts each year in late May and continues into September, employs 10-12 high school and college students, including several students provided by Project One, a community based non- profit organization that combines education and training with work experience. Several team members are assigned to the park’s two play areas, which are among the most popular and well-used spaces in Waterfront Park. Other team members will help with general park maintenance, litter control, weeding, and care of the park’s public garden area on Witherspoon. The Clean Team program costs $35,000 to operate each year.
“I’m in the park nearly every day, and I see the use it receives and the heavy toll that takes on maintenance,” said Construction Solutions president Clinton Deckard. “The Clean Team really makes a difference.” Construction Solutions has been Waterfront Park’s construction manager for a number of years, and they currently manage the Big Four Bridge ramp construction underway in the park.
The first Clean Team was funded by Kindred Healthcare in 2006, followed in 2007 by the AEGON Clean Team. Kindred partnered again in 2008, and AEGON was the 2009 sponsor. Friends of the Waterfront also provided donations to the program in 2008 and 2009.
More than 1.5 million people visit Waterfront Park annually, and the park hosts more than 150 events every year, the majority of those between April and October.