Dear friends and FDR Park supporters,
We need your support this upcoming year. In 2026 we are celebrating Philadelphia’s 250th birthday. We are anticipating an exciting year throughout the city and especially here, in South Philadelphia’s largest and most beloved park.
2025 was full of milestones as we grew our stewardship efforts, increased our free public programming, expanded youth opportunities, and strengthened cultural-heritage programs and partnerships like never before. We could not have accomplished this without you - our community. We are asking for your support. Please donate today so we can continue this work into 2026.
We are so proud of our impact on stewardship, programming, and coalition-building at FDR Park in 2025.
This year, over 1,200 Stewardship Volunteers:
Spent 6,000 volunteer-hours caring for our park
Removed 75,000 square feet of invasive plants
Redesigned and established the Learning Garden
Broke ground on the Food Forest
We welcomed over 7,324 participants to our free public programs
The Nature Center drew 418 participants
We completed our first full season of free archery
Continuation of community-initiated programming including Tai Chi, Herbalism and Workshops
Not just Jazz returned for its 4th year
We inaugurated a community-built Summer Music Festival
Accomplished over 25 unique programs
The Friends of FDR park team provided support and strong partnerships:
We welcomed the African American and Diaspora Market for its inaugural year with the leadership of 30-year community activist and FDR Park Board member, Karen Harris.
We collaborated with Bennett Compost and Philadelphia Parks and Recreation to bring open-air composting to the Markets at FDR Park.
We launched a recycling-pilot program in collaboration with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation to bring recycling to FDR, park-wide.
We welcomed 10 collaborative programs to the African American, Latino, and Southeast Asian Market focusing on arts, culture and public health.
Maintain an ongoing collaboration with the VISTA workforce-development program to increase institutional and organizational capacity.
Your gifts will help support the continuation of this work in 2026. As stewards of this corner of South Philadelphia, the Friends of FDR Park take our work seriously, as it is crucial to the sustainability and resilience of our vibrant city. We are currently preparing for an active season in 2026, packed with your favorite regular programs and new collaborative efforts, as well as continuing and building upon volunteer and stewardship efforts. Please help us further enhance and enrich the park experience by donating today.
Our vision is to make FDR Park one of the greatest urban parks in America, rooted in the ideals of diversity, inclusion, and environmental sustainability. We work towards this goal by providing community-led, free public programs, working alongside our dedicated volunteers to improve the ecology of our 348-acre park by installing and maintaining native plant gardens, planting trees, and doing park cleanups. Join us by supporting this vision today with a donation to the Friends of FDR Park.
Every dollar you contribute has an immediate impact on the communities of FDR Park. Increase your impact by checking if your employer has a matching-gift program, and please encourage your friends and family to become members and donors to support the Friends of FDR Park.
Thank you for your support!
The Friends of FDR Park
When you become a member, your contributions go toward the following:
Community Programs – Nature programming, Archery, live music & more!
Stewardship Supplies – Lawn Mowers, Gardening & Landscaping Tools, etc.
Advocacy - We are a voice for all FDR Park users in operations and long-term planning
In addition to supporting stewardship & programming, members will enjoy the following benefits:
To donate without becoming a member, click the button “Donate a custom amount”
