Help Your Favorite Park Win a $100,000 Recreation Grant
My father and I on our Yellowstone adventure.
I love to be outdoors, and in each of the four major cities that I’ve lived in, I’ve always had a favorite local park. In Pittsburgh, it was Schenley Park because the park hosted outdoor movie nights. In Orlando, it was Fleet Peoples Park because it was very dog-friendly and had tons of wooden trails for my dogs to explore off-leash.
But if you ask me what my #1 favorite park is, the answer is easy: Yellowstone National Park, which is primarily located in Wyoming. I’ve only been to Yellowstone once – when I was about nine years old – but the park made a huge impression on me. Where else can you find herds of bison, picturesque streams and fields of wildflowers, a petrified forest, and geysers like Old Faithful? My dad took me to Yellowstone on a camping / cycling trip with a large group. It was an incredible learning and bonding experience, and I’m forever grateful for the experience.
Of course, not all parks are as well-funded and nicely maintained as a popular national park like Yellowstone. Our communities need safe parks. And that’s where Coca-Cola’s America is Your Park program comes in. With a simple click of a mouse, you could help your favorite park – whether local, state, or national – win a grant of $100,000.
Click through to learn more about the America is Your Park program.
Over 13 million votes were cast in last year’s America is Your Park program. The winner was Oak Park in the small town of Minot, North Dakota, which had been destroyed by a historic flood that damaged much of the city. Thanks to Coca-Cola’s program, residents of Minot now have a place to safely play, gather, and enjoy the outdoors again.
During this year’s America is Your Park contest, Coke will award recreation grants to the top three parks with the most votes - $100,000 for first place, $50,000 for second and $25,000 for third. Additionally, a $15,000 grant will be awarded, drawn at random, to a lucky park that comes in 4th to 25th place.
To vote for your favorite park, visit livepostively.com/parks. Voting only takes a few seconds and registration is not required. Encourage your friends and community members to vote for your favorite park, too!
This is sponsored content from Babble and The Coca-Cola Company. All opinions expressed in the post are my own and not those of Coca-Cola. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Only legal residents of the 50 U.S. (and D.C.) who are at least 13 years old and reside within the U.S. at the time of participation are eligible to vote for a Park. Participate on behalf of a Park by: July 15, 2012. The 3 most popular Parks will be offered a grant and there will be 1 Wild Card drawing at the end of the Contest to award an additional grant. To participate, for Official Rules, and complete details including grant descriptions, visit www.LivePositively.com/parks. Void where prohibited. Click here to see more of the discussion.
As a resident of Minot, thanks for the shout-out! Although the grant helped our Oak Park, it’s still far from what it was. There is still debris from the flood throughout the valley, and its not for lack of trying to clean up. Many people are still not in their homes. But Oak Park is back open to the public on a scaled-down version, and many families are happy for some sort of normalcy back.
Yellowstone has been on my to-do list for years!!! Reading about it again makes me realize how badly this trip NEEDS to happen!
I love that picture of you and your dad and have always wanted to visit Yellowstone
I would LOVE to visit Yellowstone — it’s always been on my to-see list! Hopefully we’ll be able to go at the end of this summer for a quick family vacation before the kids head back to school.
wow thanks so much for sharing this contest, i had no idea anything existed and our neighborhood park would benefit from this SO much! submitting my vote now..
outdoor movie night? so jealous!! i wish we had something like that around here!
Taking my family to visit Yellowstone is totally on our bucket list, hopefully in a few years when they are older and can appreciate it’s beauty.
I love Yellowstone and it is the perfect example of how great a well-maintained park can be. Hopefully with this Coke campaign a few other parks can get up to this level!
You are so right about how important parks are to a community. I love taking my kids to our local park and on weekend afternoons it feels like the whole town is out and about at the park. And safety is important too…. I want to know that when my kids are older, I can let them ride their bikes to the park and not have to worry!
What a wonderful idea! Working in NYS government, I’ve seen firsthand just how much our parks need our help. Time and time again, they are often the first on the chopping block when it comes to budget cuts – but, without fail, the people who love these beautiful, natural, and vital resources go to bat for them and save our parks. New Yorkers LOVE their state parks – good for Coke for giving us another way to help them!
I love this, and yes, our national parks are treasures that we often overlook.
I have wanted to visit Yellowstone National Park since I was a kid. So far, life hasn’t taken me anywhere near it. I think it will have to be a stop on a family cross-country road trip. Parks are perfect for extended trips because they are largely free entertainment.
Aw, Caitlin! Love that picture of you and your Dad. The bike looks so much fun! Parks are so important to the community and I am so glad I have so many for my girls. Thanks to Coke for giving more parks a chance!
That picture is so awesome. Yellowstone is definitely on my list of parks to visit and take my kids. Hopefully we’ll make it up there at some point. Next summer we’re planning to take a road trip to hit some of the national parks closer to us, like the Grand Canyon and Zion. Hopefully my kids have the same amazing memories that you do!