Our first interview of the week was with Michael Keeler, an initiator of the Teresa's park crowdfunding campaign last year. The initiative to renovate the small grimy street corner came from Mark Fisher Fitness which is a fitness center neighbouring the unused lot. Together with the professional expertise of Clinton Housing Development Company, they decided to raise enough money to plant trees and flowers, build a little terrace and add benches. The result is a green and serene corner open to the community of Manhattan.
Before
The target of the campaign was $2,500, an amount which was already reached in the first four days! In the end more than 10 thousand dollar was collected. As seen with other projects, the rewards for contributing to the project included the possibility of writing one's name on a plague placed in the park. The clients of the fitness center played a significant role in raising this amount. But, also the neighbouring community played a substantial role by financing and contributing time. Instead of outsourcing the construction process, the largest part was realised by volunteers.
Volunteering
Especially the volunteering element led to connecting different individuals within the community. On one hand the people living in the surroundings were introduced to each other, on the other hand the clients of the fitness center got involved with the neighbourhood. Currently, the park is used as a place to have lunch, but also as an area to organise small events like music nights.
After
For us this project was especially interesting because it showed how a small scale project can involve a broad community. In the end, a very tangible result is delivered to the neighbourhood. An area which would normally go unnoticed by the local government, has been converted to a pleasant park thanks to the help of crowdfunding.
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