VNSNY Staff Volunteer to Help Beautify 5 City Playgrounds, All for Our 125th Anniversary

Among Lillian Wald’s many accomplishments, she is famous for establishing New York City’s first playground for children. On Saturday, July 14th, in celebration of VNSNY’s 125th anniversary, approximately 80 VNSNY staff members honored her legacy by spending several hours volunteering at one of five playgrounds across the city—braving near-90-degree temperatures to plant flowers, weed garden beds, and scrape and repaint benches, fences and other playground fixtures.

Following in Lillian Wald’s footsteps: VNSNY staffers at Ciccarone Park in the Bronx take a break to pose for a photo. Thanks to our volunteers’ efforts, five New York City playgrounds have freshly planted flowers and a new coat of paint.

VNSNY volunteers touch up a wrought-iron fence at the Kissena Park Playground in Queens.

“Even though it was hot and humid, everybody had a good time,” says VNSNY Human Resource Specialist Caroline Umhoefer, who organized and assisted with the event together with fellow HR Connect staffers Michelle Antonucci, Lenore Boyd, Jessica Falsetta and Roxanne Gay. Besides giving the playgrounds a facelift, she notes, the volunteers also fielded their share of inquiries from other parkgoers. “People were curious, so it was a good chance to speak with folks outside of VNSNY and explain what we were doing.”

In addition to the Brooklyn site, VNSNY’s volunteers also pitched in at Ciccarone Park in the Bronx, Chelsea Park in Manhattan, and the Kissena Park and Captain Mario Fajardo Park Playgrounds in Queens. Materials and supervision were provided by representatives from the advocacy group Partnership for Parks, while VNSNY supplied the volunteers with lunches and plenty of cold water.

Marian Haas, Vice President of Human Resources, prepares a Ciccarone Park flower bed for planting.

“It was a glorious day for working outdoors!” says Marian Haas, Vice President for Human Resources Policy and Practice. “We had all the supplies we needed, thanks to our Parks Coordinator, Jules. I volunteered in Ciccarone Park in the Bronx with a small but mighty group of volunteers who planted 50 flowering shrubs and plants, bringing smiles to all who passed by. I frequently thought of Lillian Wald’s first playground as I watched the children playing around us, and the tremendous impact she made on our community and beyond.”

Social work assistant Irene Chacon and her son TJ at the Nostrand Playground in Brooklyn.

The response from VNSNY staffers was so enthusiastic that not all those who volunteered were able to participate due to the limited slots available, adds Marian. As a result, a second day of volunteering at playgrounds in Manhattan and Brooklyn has been scheduled for September 8th.

To see a News 12 Bronx video segment on VNSNY’s volunteer effort, click here.