McLaren Park Needs Your Vote

From Chuck Farrugia, co-founder of Help McLaren Park:

Sears put up a nationwide contest online for a $30,000 Park Makeover. I nominated one section of McLaren Park (Burrows Street area) and guess what? We are one of the 10 finalists! This is a great opportunity considering that we were selected out of all the parks in the country! Just for being one of the finalists we will receive a gardening package for our park, including a yard tractor among other thing to keep the park green.

Vote here.

McLaren Park was one of only two selected in California — the other is in Long Beach — so rally the troops if you want to win this for San Francisco. (Or however else you want to look at it.)

If you need a little more encouraging, here’s part of the description from the voting page:

The park’s 317 acres include natural areas rich in native plants and animals, lawns and planted gardens, as well as transition areas between the two … However, parts of the park are in clear need of beautification and renovation The Burrows and Gambier St. site is one of the most glaring examples of deterioration. Instead of an inviting entrance to acres of green space, the area is a sad reminder that the neighborhood lacks a well-maintained park. The grass is patchy and there is no real landscaping to speak of. Where a playground once thrived, now sits a dirty sand pit that parents are afraid to let their kids play in because dogs use it as a bathroom. … Families and children, who would normally go elsewhere or not engage with their fellow neighbors, will have a reason to connect to their local community by using the renovated area.

Okay, one more thing to try and convince you to exercise your democratic right: The contest is called More Green Across America, so what better way to cap Earth Day?

“I Smell Chili!”

Reminder from Chuck and Trilce Farrugia, founders of Help McLaren Park, about their Second Annual Chili Cook-Off tomorrow at noon:

Just a friendly reminder about this Saturday’s Chili Cook-Off fundraiser for Help McLaren Park.  The weather gods are on our side again.  Any money left over after paying out that HUGE $100 prize for first place chili goes towards our a new kiosk and renovation of one of the play areas on Burrows Street.

Learn more about Chuck and Trilce and their efforts to bring park patrols back to McLaren Park.

McLaren Park: The New Golden Gate Park?

Perseverance pays off. No one knows this better than Chuck Farrugia, who has lived in the Portola District his entire life and has been been working for the last 20 years to bring park patrols back to McLaren Park. While other neighborhood groups like Friends of McLaren Park have already been diligent in their efforts to preserve the park, in January 2008, Chuck and his wife Trilce founded Help McLaren Park. Their focus is to make the park safer for children, especially their 2-year-old son, Enzo.

Listen to their story:

Help McLaren Park will be hosting their Second Annual Chili Cook-Off fundraiser on March 13 March 20 (NEW DATE!), from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. at the Louis Sutter Roundhouse.

For more information, e-mail them or visit their web site.