Summer is almost here and it’s time to vote. No, not in THAT election, it’s time to vote for your favorite park! This summer, Coca-Cola is rallying people to cast a “swing vote” for their favorite park candidate. Beginning today, slides, park swings, see-saws and open play spaces all stand to benefit in the third-annual America Is Your Park campaign where one lucky park will win a $100,000 recreation grant thanks to the Coca-Cola Live Positively initiative.
“Parks are the anchors of our communities, but budget cuts have left them with little funds for restoration. Through the Coca-Cola America Is Your Park campaign, a small action today can turn your favorite park into a better place to play tomorrow. So whether it’s an evening walk or a day of family fun, get out and play in the park – and vote to help your favorite win.”, said Celeste Bottorff, Vice President, Living Well, Coca-Cola North America.
How to Vote
Visit LivePositively.com/parks to earn one vote per click for your favorite park! Earn 100 votes each time you “check in” from the park via Foursquare.
Search by park name, city or zip code for your favorite local park. From there, you can view the Leaderboard to see where you park stands and check out the tools on how to campaign for your park. There’s a Facebook cover photo to upload, flyers and brochures to print and tips for hosting a park event.
The three parks that receive the most votes by July 15, 2012 will be awarded recreation grants in the following amounts:
First Place – $100,000
Second Place – $50,000
Third Place – $25,000.
In addition, a $15,000 grant will be awarded at random to another park that places in one of the remaining top 25 spots. These recreation grants will help restore, rebuild or enhance activity areas in parks where people can play and be active!
The park I’ve voted for is Suson Park! It’s a wonderful park that I grew up visiting and I want my son to do the same! In addition to a wonderful playground, there are also horses, cows, pigs and chickens to look at! There has been talk of the park having to close due to budget cuts and that just can’t happen!
Another park I would love to see win though is Parr Hill Park in Joplin, Missouri. The park was destroyed last year in the devastating tornado and I would love to see this park receive the grant from Coca-Cola to help it!
Vote for your favorite park! Remember, you have until July 15th to spread the word! If you tweet your support, make sure to use the hashtag #voteparks!
Disclosure: I attended the Conversations with Coca-Cola event where they is provided travel and accommodations to and from Atlanta. I have not been asked to blog about the event or this information, but want to share this experience with my readers! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Stefanie says
Thanks for the info…this looks like a great campaign.
Annie says
I loved hearing Coca-Cola tell me about this initiative! It is so cool of them to care about a place our kids spend so much time. I’m going to vote for my park that is used a LOT and needs a facelift. THANKS!
Tesa @ 2 Wired 2 Tired says
I love this campaign. It’s such a wonderful way to get excited about giving back to your community!
Carrie with Children says
What a great campaign! There are so many great parks near our house it was hard to pick just one! I voted for a beautiful little park near us that was built in memory of a little girl who left our world far too soon.