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Woods Who?
Mission
Friends of the Woods is committed to shifting the current physical conditions and negative community perceptions of University Woods through programming, advocacy and education and using the information found to help other communities use their parks to improve the conditions of the surrounding neighborhoods.
Our Story
Friends of the Woods (FOTW) was founded in Summer 2006 by Brandy Cochrane, a resident of the University Heights community. With only one walk through University Woods, an instant obligation to restore this beautiful mass of land was born. Cochrane couldn't believe she didn't know about this park, after all she lived in the neighborhood for 4 years. Never the less, she decided to immediately spring into actions.
With the help of the Parks Department, in October 2006 FOTW arranged it's first "It's My Park Day" at University Woods. Since then, FOTW has made consistent progress fulfilling its mission. At the end of 2006, Friends of the Woods was was admitted into Partnerships Academy, a competitive program that teaches park groups the importance of building meaningful relationships in order to accomplish it's mission. The experience at the Academy has proven to be invaluable to FOTW, as it prepared them for the the long-term highs and lows that come with running a park group.
In 2007, FOTW arranged various clean ups at University Woods resulting in more usage of the park. This prompted the parks department to place a part-time staff at the park. In addition, FOTW began surveying the neighbors for ideas and building relationships with neighboring organizations.
In 2008, Friends of the Woods received it's first grant from Partnerships for Parks. We also hosted the University Heights Block Party that took place on August 30 on Cedar Avenue. We were also allocated $500,000 from Bloomberg for rehabilitations of University Woods. Construction is scheduled to begin in Fall 2009.
Vision
To make University Woods the natural escape you never knew existed in your own backyard!
Friends of the Woods is a 501(c)3 organization through the sponsorship of City Parks Foundation (CPF). Contribution made to CPF and earmarked for Friends of the Woods are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
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