Community Volunteer Day; Long Run with the Heartbreak Hill Running Company

It's a big day in Franklin Park Coalition land. If you're not a runner, but want to help out with around the park, check out the Community Volunteer Day, which will be taking place from 10:00-noon on Saturday. Projects include removing catbrier from baby trees and trash pick-up now that the snow is just about gone! 

While the cleanup is going on, our runners will be taking on a double round of Heartbreak Hill with a double session of training with the Heartbreak Hill Running Company and Playworks Boston. 

Three Numbers Still Available to Run the Boston Marathon with the Franklin Park Coalition

Are you still on the fence about running the 2013 Boston Marathon? Hop off and join our team for the last month of training and fundraising fun and earn your spot for 26.2 mile jaunt on April 15, 2013. The organization is willing to be flexible with fundraising deadlines and will help any runners come up with a plan to reach the $4000 minimum required by the Boston Athletic Association to secure an entry.

For the application and more information, please visit: http://www.fpcmarathoncharityteam.blogspot.com/p/team-application.html

Where Everybody Knows Your Name...and They're Always Glad You Came

If this doesn't entice you to get over to the original Cheers tonight and raise a Grape Crush in honor of team member Kevin Meehan's fundraising, then nothing will. Join him for a Thursday night happy hour, good time with appetizers, drink specials, raffles and more all for the good of the Franklin Park Coalition.

So, head on over to 84 Beacon Street anytime from 5:30-9:30 p.m. for trivia with Cliff, a beer with Norm, and a great time with Kevin.

Beautify Boston Grant Awarded to Franklin Park

In mid-February, the Boston Globe announced that Franklin Park would be one of the recipients receiving a portion of a $286,000 beautification grant from the City of Boston for ongoing improvements in Franklin Park. While the Boston Marathon team has raised money that has supported the Summer Youth Conservation Crew in continuing beautification work, that funding alone is not enough.

To learn more about the program, visit http://www.cityofboston.gov/parks/beautifyboston/. To see the Boston Globe article about the program, visit http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/back_bay/2013/02/boston_awards_286k_to_help_fun.html.

Another Round of Cornhole for the Coalition! Join Margaret on March 3!

FPC Boston Marathon team member Margaret Newell has been putting in hours of training to take down her opponents one-by-one. There has been blood. There has been sweat. There has been tears. If you want to see the fruits of her effort, Marathon Monday ain't got nothing on Cornhole Sunday.

If you haven't had the chance to come out and support the Franklin Park Coalition yet, this is a great opportunity. The Baseball Tavern will have spring training games playing, cold beer flowing, and fun for all ages. 

The FPC team is lucky to have Margaret aboard. She has run two Boston Marathons with the Wedieko Children's Services team and is a guidance counselor at Everett High School. She has seen first hand the impact of parks and open space for teens and is excited to support the FPC in helping teens gain meaningful summer work and health and fitness opportunities.

If you can't come to cornhole, be sure to check out Maragret's fundraising page to learn more: 
http://www.razoo.com/story/Margaret-Is-On-The-2013-Franklin-Park-Coalition-Marathon-Team

Racing to the Finish! Come Celebrate with the Team!

Join us for an all-you-can-handle pizza party at Bella Luna Restaurant in Jamaica Plain on March 13 to celebrate the closing weeks of the Boston Marathon training season for our fabulous team!

All proceeds from the event will support the fundraising efforts of the 2013 Franklin Park Coalition Boston Marathon Team. Your ticket includes a night of all-you-can-eat gourmet pizza, five raffle tickets for some great, local prizes, and a cash bar.

Tickets are $15.00 for individuals and $40.00 for families. Advance tickets must be purchased by March 12, 2013 at midnight. Day of tickets are $20.00 for individuals and $50.00 for families.

When you purchase your advance tickets, be sure to "dedicate" or "comment" on the runner that you are buying your ticket for! If you are just buying a general ticket to support the team, feel free to just wish the team luck!

This special event takes places at Bella Luna (http://www.milkywayjp.com/) restaurant, located at 284 Amory Street in Jamaica Plain on Wednesday, March 13, 2013 from 6:30-9:00 p.m.

Questions? Contact Julie Arrison, Marathon Charity Team Leader at julie@franklinparkcoalition.org.

To purchase your tickets or to make a general donation to the team, please visit: http://www.razoo.com/story/2013teamkickoffparty

Second Year Runner Carleen Tucker Exceeds Fundraising Goal

Carleen Tucker is a superstar. The Franklin Park Coalition is thrilled to have her back on the Boston Marathon team for a second year and also participating as a board member. 

Carleen has exceeded her fundraising goal with a combination of private donations from family and friends and also using the Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare "mini-grant" program that allows employees to donate up to $500.00 on an annual basis to a nonprofit of their choice. 

Carleen's story and connection to the park is compelling. Her husband Mark is born and raised in Roxbury and credits his time in Franklin Park as literally saving his life by giving him a safe place to play and grow up. Together, the couple has raised their children in the sunshine of the park between picnics and Elma Lewis Playhouse in the Park nights. Like all of our runners, Carleen believes strongly in the programming goals of the FPC, but has seen the impact first hand of the good work of the park in generations of her family.

Join the Franklin Park Coalition in congratulating our fabulous board member and marathoning mama in exceeding expectations!

We also invite you to check out last year's feature on Carleen's Year One Experience from the Boston Globe Magazine: http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2012/03/17/runners-for-long-haul/buTsnC4I9oMSgj1qgUvwaJ/story.html