We have a chance to be a part of the Louisville’s annual day of giving — an opportunity to unite our city around causes in which we truly believe, and help nonprofits connect to the larger community.

We need your help! Please join our campaign and donate to Beechwood Park. We need you to tell your friends and family members about the important work we do and ask them to join us in helping to make a difference.

Get ready to give! Starting at 12 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17, visit our page at Give for Good Louisville and make a donation to us (plus any of the great participating nonprofit organizations in the community). You will have just 24 hours to make your donation.

Thank you, so much, for your support!

Rendering of the nature-based play area for Bloom students.

The 550-student Highlands public school one block away plans to use the park in two ways:

• An outdoor classroom for an interactive learning experience. With seating and an open central area, this space is designed to be a flexible area for education, events, and formal gathering within the core of the park.
• Nature play area, incorporating elements of playgrounds and nature into a universal accessible space for children and adults to interact with nature. This area is designed for creativity and imagination.

The park would complement the hardscape play area now used by students on the school’s campus, just steps away on Lucia Street.

Please consider a donation to the Friends of Beechwood Park during Give for Good Louisville. It starts at midnight!

Neighbors and volunteers were out in force today, cleaning up the park in advance of next Saturday’s 2nd Annual Beechwood Park Festival.

Kristen Millwood holds a stack of flyers to deliver to area homes.

Brian Caudill, president of Friends of Beechwood Park, leads the charge.

One of our volunteers got busy with a rake.

Our award-winning architects at Gresham, Smith and Partners have now showcased our project in a gorgeous multimedia presentation. It tracks the nascent park’s history from the seedling of an idea nurtured by Highlands neighbors, to initial design, early rounds of fundraising, and last year’s construction groundbreaking.

Johnson

Combining virtual-reality video, illustrations, photos, and text, the presentation builds on Gresham Smith’s earlier marketing campaign. “A series of communication strategies were developed,” the firm says, “to assist Friends of Beechwood Park in refining their vision, creating a buzz within the community, leveraging private donations and grant funding, and taking the project from concept through to implementation.”

Project Manager Louis R. Johnson summarizes it best:  “This project represents a true grassroots effort of neighborhood communities coming together, wanting to inspire change, and then doing something about it in their own front yard.”

The presentation is called “A Grassroots Community Effort.” You can watch it here. And check out the virtual-reality video of the park’s master plan, which debuted at last year’s first Annual Beechwood Park Festival. It’s best viewed with a VR headset, but you’ll get a flavor of it in this YouTube version.

Don’t miss this year’s festival, where we’ll celebrate all the progress we’ve made in the past year developing our new pocket park in the Highlands near Mid-City Mall. Entrance is free, and the public is invited to join all the fun.

• When: Aug. 11 from 4 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Where: in the park at 1620 Beechwood Ave.

We’ll feature a beer tent by Monnik Beer Co.; ValuMarket‘s grill; music by Squeeze-bot; Squallis Puppeteers and other kids’s activities, plus much more.

Please visit our festival invitation on Facebook. And follow us on our Facebook community page.