Annual Fund 2024
Dear Friend,
There’s a lot to love about Van Cortlandt Park…
It’s your neighborhood getaway in the Bronx—and home to 600 acres of urban forest. It’s a cherished outdoor haven where you can gather, play, relax, and reconnect. It’s a welcoming space for solace, tranquility, and community.
These are just a few of the precious gifts your park gives you.
Today, we’re asking you to give back by making a generous donation to Van Cortlandt Park Alliance to help sustain the park you know and love. As we look to the months ahead, generous support from friends like you is more important than ever.
Whether we’re working year-round to protect and preserve all its natural wonder… bringing in additional seasonal staff to clean up the park… or restoring forests, wetlands, meadows, and trails…
… your generosity is the seed from which Van Cortlandt Park grows.
Whether our education staff is out in the field, teaching Bronx kids about the environment… whether we’re planning new community events and cultural celebrations… or expanding our volunteer coordination and stewardship efforts…
… your year-end gift makes great things happen.
The impact of your generosity radiates across the park, supporting popular attractions like our world-renowned Cross Country Course and more than 20 miles of hiking trails. Everyone—from competitive athletes to everyday walkers, hikers, and runners—enjoys our trails throughout the year.
You make a real difference for the park when you join your neighbors as a proud part of VCPA.
Please answer the call to care for Van Cortlandt Park with your generous year-end gift today.
DONATE
Your gift goes far to support key park initiatives like these:
- After years of neglect, the Stadium is the subject of a Capital Project Scoping Development Study. Along with NYC Parks, we’ll be collecting survey feedback to determine what the community envisions for this valuable space.
- Our precious Parade Ground is the heart and soul of Van Cortlandt Park, and we’re thrilled that it will continue to be free and accessible to millions of visitors for years to come thanks to advocacy efforts led by VCPA.
- VCPA recently secured a substantial grant to reimagine the Enslaved African Burial Ground to memorialize the legacy of the Enslaved people of the Bronx. We can’t wait to share more with you about this important initiative that kicks off in 2025.
- In a proud effort, we quintupled the size of our educational garden, increasing our ability to provide education and service opportunities for young people in our neighborhood. Our youth-led farmstand, which provides locally grown produce for the community, is in its eleventh fruitful year.
This is just a snapshot of how, together with you, VCPA serves, supports, and promotes the recreational, ecological, and historical value of Van Cortlandt Park.
It takes a lot of love and care to sustain the third largest park in New York City—which draws more than 3 million visitors annually! And it requires community support.
Van Cortlandt Park is always here for you… please choose to be here for your park. Your generosity is what protects and preserves this natural treasure as an essential part of our city, our community, and our lives.
Your gift is the seed from which the park continues to grow. I urge you to join our alliance of proud park supporters by giving now. You’ll make a powerful difference for the park that brings so much natural wonder and beauty into our lives.
With gratitude and best wishes for the holiday season,
Stephanie Ehrlich
Executive Director, Van Cortlandt Park Alliance
P.S. The generosity of neighbors like you is what powers your park, keeping it green, vibrant, and beautiful for the Bronx community. Please join VCPA with your tax-deductible gift by December 31 to help grow the park you cherish in the weeks and months ahead.
YES! I want to protect and preserve the park that I love.