NEWSROOM

Our team loves working with journalists from around the Bay Area to share compelling, unique stories about Oakland’s parks. If you’re a member of the media and would like to talk, please get in touch by sending an email to press@oaklandparks.org.

Organization Overview

Founded in 1981 as the Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation, we work to build and improve parks, support park programming, provide fiscal services to community groups and manage privately-raised funds on behalf of the City of Oakland. In 2015, Friends and the Oakland Parks Coalition joined forces to become the Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation, adding park stewardship and maintenance to our portfolio of activities. In recent years, our projects have included the renovation of the soccer fields at Raimondi Park, the construction of state-of-the-art skate facilities at DeFremery Park and the creation of a new playground at Eastshore Park near Lake Merritt.

Current Programs

We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that partners with the City of Oakland’s Parks, Recreation & Youth Development and Public Works Administration departments. We sponsor more than 100 community groups under our non-profit umbrella, provide scholarships for up to 600 kids annually to attend summer camp and complete capital projects that build or improve park facilities across the city. Just in the last year, we have sent hundreds of kids to Oakland’s Town Camp summer program, completed playground renovations at Lincoln Square and Lafayette Square, launched our inaugural city-wide parks user survey and provided fiscal sponsorship to community partners producing athletic, cultural and arts programming across Oakland.

History

The Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation traces its roots back to 1981, and is the product of the 2015 merger of two great organizations: Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation and the Oakland Parks Coalition.

Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation was founded in 1981 by Anne Woodell and a group of committed citizens to help Oakland’s park system develop new parks, and renovate tot lots, playing fields and recreation centers. Friends raised millions of dollars to maintain and champion our parks through partnerships between city government, park users and beneficiaries, and local business and community organizations.

In 2002, a group of citizens concerned about declining conditions in Oakland parks and park programming met to create a blueprint for the formation of a new organization that would tackle the emerging issues around parks, address them through community outreach and advocate for changes in the governing system that would help to resolve them. That organization, Oakland Parks Coalition, was ably led by landscape architect Gillian Garro and then Superintendent of Recreation and Parks in San Francisco, Audree Jones-Taylor, for the next 3 years while the organization found its bearings.

Since 2006, when the Coalition reorganized and redefined its mission to be an advocate for improved standards of performance of maintenance in City parks and green spaces, it has supported its cadre of park stewards, conducted an annual parks survey, published the annual parks report and urged city agencies to fund increased maintenance resources.

The two groups merged in January 2015, changed the organization’s name to the Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation and established a new mission to provide volunteer, financial resources and advocacy for recreation programs and parks in Oakland.

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