December 2022 Newsletter
The Mission of the Lakes Park Enrichment Foundation is to enhance the beauty and experience of Lakes Park.
ο»ΏDecember, 2022
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT:
Dear Friends of Lakes Park,
Great News; our beloved Lakes Park will reopen in January.
The tentative date is January 9th but please be understanding if that date is off by a couple of days. Some amenities such as the water playgrounds which were heavily damaged will not be ready for use.
FEMA is scheduled to leave the Park by January 1st. Park staff and Volunteers need at least a week to get things back in order after FEMA leaves.
We want to thank the thousands of workers who stayed in Lakes Park and came from all over the United States to help us after Hurricane Ian. Without all these workers many of us would still be waiting for help. We know that being able to return to Lakes Park at the end of a long day of work was at least a peaceful experience.
I also want to thank all the wonderful people who have donated to the Foundation during these times. Your dollars will go to help restore all the gardens and any other amenities that are not covered by insurance.
A shout out to our Volunteers who were able to get into the Park under the watchful and loving eye of Kathy Busick “Volunteer Extraordinaire”. They have accomplished a huge amount of work to repair and replace all that was damaged.
Thank you to the dedicated staff at Lakes Park who, in spite of damage to their own homes, showed up to work every day and went wherever they were assigned and did whatever they needed to do to restore the parks.
So…we look forward to welcoming you back to the Park. We are all excited to get to the Farmers Market on Wednesdays, ride a bike, enjoy nature, ride the train and get out on the Lakes in one of the beautiful new Swan paddle boats.
See you all there,
Barbara Manzo
President LPEF
THANK YOU!ο»Ώ
We are very grateful to ALL the donors who’ve assisted LPEF throughout 2022 but ESPECIALLY to those who have made donations following Hurricane Ian. Although they couldn’t use the park due to its closed status but opened their checkbooks to us at this critical time. The Lakes Park gardens were especially hard hit as were the recently installed shade structures over the playgrounds. Unfortunately, our losses are not reimbursable by insurance or any government funds. Additionally, we and our Lakes Park partners—Railroad Museum of SW Florida, WheelFun and Sunrise Rotary—lost one of our major fundraisers of the year when Scarecrows in the Park was cancelled. We’re not disheartened and look forward to holding this event in 2023.
Major post-Ian donations came from:
· National Philanthropic Trust
· Mary Leland
· Nason Family Charitable Fund
· Roger Tosch Estate
· Many Riva Del Lago Condominium owners
These funds will be directed first toward repairing the garden irrigation system so water is available to renourish, replant, replant, replant our Botanic, Children’s and Community gardens during the coming dry season. These areas are amazingly resilient—green sprouts are emerging--and all will be beautiful again when we can welcome you back to Lakes Park.
Support Lakes Park this Christmas by donating a brickππ
Follow this link for a brick donation and this link for a general donation. Thank you for your support!
Fundraising for the park!
Marsha Asp, Paula Novander, and Kathy Busick held a Plant Sale at Riva Del Lago to raise funds for Lakes Park.
Copyright © 2023 Lakes Park Enrichment Foundation, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because of your interest and/or participation in the Lakes Park Enrichment Foundation.
Our mailing address is:
Lakes Park Enrichment Foundation
P.O. Box 61076
Fort Myers, Fl 33906-1076
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