2023—It’s Been Quite a Year!
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
The Redding Parks & Trails Foundation Board of Directors would like to send our heartfelt thanks to all of YOU, our beloved supporters! 2023 has certainly been a bountiful year, and your support has meant that we have been able to positively impact our community by advancing our mission to support a thriving, vibrant system of parks, trails, and open spaces! We’d like to use this final newsletter of 2023 as a celebration of our collaborative efforts and wish you and your families a happy and healthy holiday season!
2023 Giving Tuesday
We are elated to report that our 2023 North State Giving Tuesday campaign was a fantastic success! We raised $8,220 for the purchase of a special feature for the new Redding Bike Park—helping to bridge the funding gap caused by the recent exponential rise in construction costs.
We are incredibly grateful for the $4,110 donated by donors like yourselves in this year’s campaign. As part of our commitment to have some skin in the game, the Foundation matched any donation made—dollar for dollar. Our goal was to raise $6,000 in donations matched by $6,000 from the Foundation so that we could purchase one of the large curved walls which cost $11,700. We are excited to be SO CLOSE to accomplishing that goal—only $1,500 to go!
Missed the campaign? It is still possible to donate to this effort by clicking HERE!
2023 Vine & Dine for Parks
Our 2023 Vine & Dine for Parks event was a wonderful success, raising just over $12,000 for the Adult Bike Pump Track at the new Redding Bike Park. The Bike Park project is part of the ongoing larger Caldwell Park Restoration Project (2022–present) and was, in fact, one of the driving factors behind the grant awarded to the City of Redding that enabled this large project to move forward. The Foundation was especially excited to raise these funds in collaboration with the Redding Trail Alliance who were instrumental in the design of the Redding Bike Park project and grant application.
Fiscal Sponsorships
In 2023, the Foundation provided fiscal sponsorship for these community-initiated park and trail ventures
Redding Pickleball Group | 2022–present
Future of Redding Trails (FORT) | 2023–present
Park & Trail Development Projects
This year, the Redding Parks & Trails Foundation provided ongoing support for both a revitalization and a park creation projects:
South City Revitalization Project
The Foundation is a partner in the revitalization grant submitted by the City of Redding. Grant awards are to be announced by early 2024.Panorama Park Creation Project
The Foundation continues to support this park creation project which was recently awarded a $9.25 million grant! Construction is expected to start in 2025.
Community Outreach
The Foundation is a longtime partner in the annual City of Redding Community Creek Clean-Up providing staffing to ensure a successful event each year.
The 2023 event held on October 1, 2023, was a huge success and resulted in the clean-up of a stretch of the Redding River Trail east of the Market Street bridge next to the new Redding Bike Park site.
The Foundation also was an active sponsor and participant in the 2023 Shasta Bike Month activities and outreach (May) and the 2023 Walktober events (October)!
We also continue to actively cheer and support the incredible efforts of Sandi Thompson who is single-handedly removing graffiti from our trails and parks!
Advocacy
The Foundation is a strong advocate for the preservation, restoration, and development of Redding’s parks, trails, and open spaces! As an organization, we look for opportunities to advocate for preserving natural spaces so that all members of our community have the chance to reap the physical and mental benefits of the outdoors.
In 2023, our monthly newsletters were designed to illuminate issues important to our community and our mission to advocate for our community. You can find them HERE.
Transitions
The Foundation also faced key transitions in the last half of 2023—both with our City partners and on our Board. The RPTF’s founder, Kim Niemer, retired from an incredible 27-year career as Redding’s Director of Community Services! The Redding Parks & Trails Foundation was part of Kim’s long-term vision to help fund parks, trails, and open space projects. In one of her last acts before leaving, Kim initiated the formation of an endowment for the long-term viability of the Foundation. We are so grateful to EVERYONE who contributed to this fund in honor of Kim Niemer! We look forward to growing it in the coming years!
Travis Menne was picked to succeed Kim as the Director of Community Services. He has worked closely with Kim over the past seven years as the Senior Projects Coordinator. In this role, he has also worked closely with the Foundation, and we are extremely excited to work with him moving forward!
The Board of Directors celebrated the efforts of two of our passionate, hard-working Board members who retired after serving over 6 years! Linda Masterson served as the first President and John Deaton served as the Foundation’s Secretary! Both left large shoes to fill!
The Foundation is very excited to introduce our two newest members: Patty Shackelton and Earnest Wilson, who bring incredible skills and a passion for parks, trails, and open spaces and for helping to improve the quality of life in our community!
Are you interested in joining a dynamic team dedicated to providing quality parks, trails, and open spaces that enhance the quality of life in our community? The Foundation would like to add 2–3 Board Members in 2024. Applications are available HERE!
