Non-Profit Awarded Grant to Give Children More Options at Parks

Friends of Franklin Parks has been awarded a grant of $2500 from Barge Design Solutions Inc as part of their 2019 fall grants cycle. 

The grant funding is intended to kickstart fundraising for a proposed project to create an inclusive playground at the City’s Southeast Municipal Complex. The purpose of the Friends of Franklin Parks is to bridge the funding gap left by the city’s spending on parks and natural resources.

This project is a collaboration between the City of Franklin and Friends of Franklin Parks, in addition to other partners. The City of Franklin will fund the infrastructure and all supporting structures.

The Friends of Franklin Parks non-profit along with other relevant partners will be fundraising (including the grant they received from Barge Design Solutions Inc), to purchase the equipment for this playground. This inclusive playground will be the only one of it’s kind in the City of Franklin park system. 

In May, a FrankTalks (a platform to discuss issues in Franklin, Tennessee) session led by the City of Franklin Parks Director Lisa Clayton discussed updates on the proposed inclusive park, to be called South East Park, which would be located off Carothers Parkway in Franklin and would include an inclusive play area for families.

Clayton had previously proposed creating an inclusive play area that would include space for entire families to enjoy the park together. The city of Franklin actually has 1000 acres of city-owned land to be used for city purposes. 

Beyond the inclusive playground, the park will feature 4 miles of walking trail, recreational fields, and a canoe launch. 

Barge Design Solutions created the Community Fund to help care for the communities it’s staff lives and works in by supporting efforts by its team members to foster generosity across the entire company. This $2500 grant will help to create this important playground in Franklin, by starting off their round of fundraising. 

Friends of Franklin works together with the City of Franklin and The Franklin Park Department to identify funding gaps and emerging needs in sixteen existing Franklin parks.