Our 2023 Volunteer Season
It’s Your Park Day, Pitch In for the Parks & Green Teams
Including this year, the Chicago Parks Foundation has supported nearly 10,000 volunteers in over 1,500 park clean-ups total since 2020!
Our fourth season of Pitch In for the Parks was a great success thanks to you! The CPF is proud to have facilitated 2,058 volunteers in a total of 330 park clean-up events this year. Together we covered ground at parks large and small all across the city.
We first stepped up to launch Pitch In for the Parks in 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Chicago Park District’s usual staff of seasonal workers was stretched thin, and we knew a first of its kind volunteer initiative like PIFTP could provide the extra support our parks needed. We were thrilled to see the effort grow quickly with committed community support.
We always kick off the season with our annual community clean-up event, It’s Your Park Day. Then from June through October, Pitch In for the Parks is available for any group to independently host clean-ups at the park of their choice. Our staff also leads Green Teams clean-up events for corporate groups to give back.
Our team stays busy spring through fall coordinating registrations, personally delivering each batch of clean-up supplies, leading Green Teams events, and providing support to anyone who wants to pitch in at their park.
Special thanks to our generous partners for continuing to make this effort possible: Boxed Water and Chicago Association of REALTORS®.
And thank you to our participating Green Teams for their generous donations, totaling to $37,550 this year, which directly help fund the community PIFTP effort.
It is the Chicago Parks Foundation’s continued goal to help park users and lovers become park givers and stewards. Our volunteer programs achieve that goal thanks to your PARK-ticipation!
2023 HIGHLIGHTS
2,050+ total volunteers
330 total clean-up events
76 total parks visited
30 Green Teams corporate clean-up events
$10,000 Chicago Association of REALTORS® sponsorship
$37,550 donated by Green Teams
It’s Your Park Day
This annual event brings dozens of parks together for a special one-day community clean-up event to kick off the volunteer season. On June 3rd, the CPF celebrated our 8th annual It’s Your Park Day with 385 volunteers at 34 parks. Participants picked up trash, mulched trees, and enjoyed community activities together.
“Parks are an important resource for residents of the city of Chicago, and it’s important that we show our support and commitment to those in our community.”
"I really enjoyed this and I'm happy I got to help out. We brought mulch throughout the area and spread it out. We carried tools to the building and picked up garbage and plastic."
Aly Stahulak, IYPD @ Welles Park w/ Welles Park Advisory Council
"I had a lot of fun at this event, and I learned something new - that is, how to mulch trees! It also opened my eyes to just how much trash was strewn across the park, especially around playgrounds and benches. I see now that there's a lot more I could do in this community."
Mary Huber, IYPD @ Nichols Park w/ Nichols Park Advisory Council
"Close knit community that embraced us as newcomers to help with some of their existing projects."
Santiago Arambula, Pitch In @ Skinner Park w/ Skinner Park Advisory Council
"It was amazing seeing other people help around the park, from little ones to grown adults. A very good experience!"
Bing Chen, IYPD @ Midway Plaisance Park w/ Hyde Park Junk Pirates
Pitch In for the Parks
The CPF provides complimentary clean-up supplies for small groups to independently host clean-ups at the park, date, and time of their choice. Many groups commit to meeting regularly every week or month.
This year, over 1,170 volunteers pitched in for 266 PIFTP clean-ups at parks citywide. All kinds of groups came together to participate, including aldermanic offices, schools, companies and organizations, neighborhood associations, Park Advisory Councils, churches, and crews of family and friends.
“Volunteering provides a sense of purpose and a sense of community.
I’m most proud of the student volunteers that pitch in.”
“The park is a beautiful refuge for many of us. I love volunteering with like-minded people."
Jan Kolar, Pitch In @ Ward Park w/ River North Residents Association
"Super thankful for the supplies & the opportunity to serve at our parks as a team!"
Ryan Schwaar, Pitch In @ Montrose Beach w/ Northern Trust AGT Cleanup Crew
"Small but no less significant an effort, I leave feeling I made a contribution the best I could. It was a great way to spend time, plus you are outside!"
Shannon Kelly, Pitch In @ Jackson Park w/ Jackson Park Conservancy
"There was an immediate, positive impact after the event. The park trash was evident when passing through the park before we started. It looked much better after. Great teammates to work with, too."
Amy Waldron, Pitch In @ Garfield Park w/ Northern Trust AGT Cleanup Crew
"We cleaned the park from 13 bags of trash and had a fantastic time doing it!”
Tatiana Savekina, Pitch In @ Washington Park w/ bKL Architecture
"It is important to keep our parks clean. Not only for the environment, but for the people within the community as well. Having an area where people can come together to create memories is such a necessary part of life."
Alysa Kuhn, Pitch In @ Humboldt Park w/ PwC EnvIN
"Maintaining our natural areas is key to improving our quality of life. I think that by supporting the parks we can appreciate the contributions of nature to us and give back as much as we can."
Douglas Aris, Pitch In @ Jackson Park w/ IMEG Corp
"As a Chicago native, keeping the city clean and accessible to everyone is important to me. If I do my part, I hope it inspires others to do the same."
Raquel Ugalde, Pitch In @ Skinner Park w/ BDO Counts Chicago
"Parks provide important greenspaces for the neighborhood - and are where I go to walk, run and get outside. Taking care of them is a priority!"
Shruthi Kumar, Pitch In @ Humboldt Park w/ Wilson Pact & Friends
Green Teams
The CPF’s corporate clean-up program offers personalized two-hour clean-up experiences for employees to get outside, gather safely, and give back together.
Each Green Team generously supports us with a donation, and this directly funds the complimentary supplies and support we provide to our PIFTP community volunteers, as well as our other vital park work as the 501c3 Partner of the Chicago Parks. Thank you to our Green Teams for together donating $37,550 this year!
We hosted 30 events this year, with many returning groups and several completing multiple clean-ups throughout the season - like Avant featured here!
AVANT - Douglass, Garfield & Seward Parks
“We chose these three city parks because they let us spread the cleanup love around to three different parts of the city. We hoped that we could maximize our impact by choosing parks that may not get as much cleanup attention as others and thus may have a greater need.
We also wanted to provide our team with an afternoon outdoors enjoying the beautiful green spaces nearby our office, and these parks certainly delivered.
Volunteering initiatives like this one are part of our social impact mission: to move our customers' financial lives forward, it takes an inclusive culture where every employee feels like they can make a valuable contribution, as well as a commitment to investing in the communities where we live and work. Since our green spaces are something we all can enjoy and share, we were happy to put our Volunteer Time Off hours to good use making these three parks a more welcoming place for our community.
Chicago’s parks system is one of this city’s many highlights, but a lot of us don’t get to enjoy it as often as we’d like. Green Teams gave us the privilege of soaking up the natural beauty and unique character that each of these parks derives from the neighborhood around it. And it was so rewarding when folks who were enjoying the park would shout friendly encouragement or stop and thank us for cleaning up. Truly, the pleasure was ours!
The highlight for us was harnessing the power of teamwork to make a positive community impact. This program brought together folks from different parts of Avant and let us get to know each other, work together, and even share a bit of friendly competition, all while appreciating our beautiful city.”
Thank you to EVERYONE who Pitched In for the Parks this season!
GREEN TEAMS
Adyen
Avant
Beam Suntory
Benesch
Chicago Bears
Chicago Association of REALTORS®
Cisco Meraki
Cubs & Cubs Charities
Codal
DWS
JLL Chase
KPMG LLP
Logiwa
McDonalds
Motorola Solutions
NDH
OpenBet
Velocity EHS
Ventas, Inc.
ZS
PARK ADVISORY COUNCILS
Berger Park Advisory Council
Bessener/Schafer Park Advisory Council
Carver & Golden Gate Park Advisory Council
Cornell Park Park Advisory Council
Douglass Park Advisory Council
Eckhart Park Advisory Council
Eugene Field Park Advisory Council
Friends of Portage Park
Gompers Park Advisory Council
Jackson Park Advisory Council
Kelvyn Park Advisory Council
Kilbourn Park Advisory Council
Lake Shore and Seneca Park Advisory Council
Leone Beach Park Advisory Council
Loyola Park Advisory Council
Maggie Cosme Park Advisory Council
Moran Park Advisory Council
Nat King Cole Park Advisory Council
Nichols Park Advisory Council
Ogden Park Advisory Council
Palmer Square Park Advisory Council
Park 581 Park Advisory Council
Pilsen Athletic League for Harrison Park Advisory Council
Ping Tom Memorial Park Advisory Council
Printers Row Park Advisory Council
River Park Advisory Council
Skinner Park Advisory Council
Washington Square Park Advisory Council
COMMUNITY GROUPS
Athletico Physical Therapy
BCBS CAPA
British International School Chicago South Loop
Civiltech Engineering, Inc.
Clean Your Park for Summer Fun
El Paseo Cleanup
Gold Coast Neighbors Association
Google
Great Lakes Credit Union
Gwendolyn Brooks Cares
Hyde Park Disc Golf
Hyde Park Junk Pirates
It's All Good In The Hood
Jackson Park Conservancy
JPAC / Hyde Park Disc Golf
Kimley-Horn
KPMG Advisory Practice
KPMG FDD
KPMG K-Class 2.0
LCSG
Legion Park Pals
Lincoln Park High School Friends
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization
MS Acq CI - Chicago
Mt. Greenwood Team
project44 pride44
PwC EnvIN Service Day 2023
River North Residents Association
SAGE at Expedia Group
SR Band
Team Belvedere Cares
Team Clean
The Railway Exchange
Upshotters
We Are One Volunteering
Welles (Gideon) Park RA Clean Up Crew
Welles Park Greening Committee
WeWork Community Team
WFM South Loop Culture Champions
White Sox Volunteer Corps
Winston 4 Good
Chicago Parks Foundation
The 501c3 Partner of the Chicago Parks
Volunteer Contact: Emily Beach
Community Programs Manager
(773) 505-9477 • ebeach@chicagoparksfoundation.org