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New fitness equipment coming to Jefferson Park in 2016

Great news from the Friends of Jefferson Park:

Friends and Neighbors:

The Friends of Jefferson Park, in partnership with the Enrichmond Foundation, City Schools and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities are proud to announce that new fitness equipment will be installed along the Park’s hillside in 2016.

The Friends of Jefferson Park was the recipient of a $51,591 award from Bon Secours Richmond Health System and a $10,000 grant from an anonymous donor. Some additional community fundraising is needed to cover additional costs related to the project. Please visit http://enrichmond.org/partner/friends-of-jefferson-park/ to make a donation to the Friends of Jefferson Park.

The highlight of this project is engaging schools, parks and the community in promoting exercise and healthier lifestyles. We have a commitment from Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School to teach their students during Physical Education class (on-site) how to properly use the equipment. Those students then will be assigned to return to the park with their parents/grandparents to teach them how to properly use the equipment.

It is our hope that the equipment will benefit members of the community from Shockoe Bottom, Union Hill, Church Hill, Fairmount and the entire East End. The use of outdoor exercise equipment not only raises fitness levels, but can help reduce childhood obesity, lower blood pressure, reduce the incidence of diabetes and build stronger families in our community.

The equipment is both of high quality and is aesthetically pleasing—Danish Modern in appearance. It will be a highly visible, beautiful addition to Jefferson Park and the City. Once installed, the City Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities has agreed to take ownership of the equipment and maintain it.

Below is a video of the equipment being demonstrated.

We will keep you posted when a ribbon cutting is scheduled.
Happy Holidays!

Bill Conkle, President

Friends of Jefferson Park
https://www.facebook.com/fojp.rva/

An affiliate of the Enrichmond Foundation
www.enrichmond.org

40 comments

dontmincewords 12/17/2015 at 8:09 AM

First park in the Commonwealth to score this type of equipment. Nice work! So, a new fountain, exercise equipment, and a view. How ’bout them apples, Libby Hill.

Reply
Bill Conkle 12/17/2015 at 10:04 AM

We are very excited about this new addition to Jefferson Park. We appreciate the support of all our partners in the community.

We hope this will be a model for other community groups to pull parks, schools and the community together to address health and fitness issues across our City. Thank you Bon Secours and our anonymous donor.

This is a wonderful gift to our community, just in time for the holidays!

Reply
Trish 12/17/2015 at 4:53 PM

That’s super cool! Looking forward to using the equipment!

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C 04/28/2016 at 10:48 AM

They are marking power lines by the trail this morning.

Reply
Dubois2 04/28/2016 at 1:08 PM

Love it!!

Reply

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