What would your park system do with a 100 million dollar donation? In New York City, this dream has become a reality thanks to a donation from hedgefund manager, John A. Paulson.
In an aritcle posted on the New York Times website, the gift is not only the largest monetary donation in the history of New York City’s park system; it is possibly the nation's largest donation to ANY park system.
The story explains that the donation was "decades in the making. It stretched back to the days when Mr. Paulson, now 56, hung out at the [Bethesda] fountain as a teenager, beneath the bronze statue Angel of the Waters, which was then scrawled with graffiti and bone dry. And it took shape more recently on walks with the president of the conservancy, Doug Blonsky, through the park’s North Woods.
How many more Mr. (and Ms.) Paulson's are out there in these United States who have had their childhoods and lives improved because of parks? What can we do to let more people know that their gifts are needed more than ever to help maintain the places they loved as youth and young adults.
Read the entire article here and prepare to be inspired to seek out your own donations.
