A community long accustomed to hawking hoagies to raise money for its high school band is looking into creating a non-profit group to raise funds for local park projects.
Friends of Hempfield Parks, as the proposed organization is initially dubbed, would be comprised of township residents who would raise money for new and ongoing projects as well as special events like the annual concert series at Hempfield Park.
“It would give us the opportunity to get more community buy-in,” Aaron Siko, director of parks and recreation, said during Wednesday’s township meeting. “We need those families, those individuals, that are interested in recreation leisure services to get more involved with our department — with community recreation as a whole — and this is one way to do that.”
Initial ideas surrounding the concept show that funds flowing through the group would be small to medium donations that would go directly to events and projects rather than be redirected to the general fund, which is used for maintenance repairs and facility upkeep.
The organization would echo Westmoreland County’s citizens advisory board, Siko said, which is made up of 19 volunteers who advise on growth and development for the parks and recreation programs. Several area municipalities are working to establish or have established similar non-profit organizations, he said.
Officials are working to put together a full plan for the organization, said township Manager Jason Winters. A timeline has not yet been determined.
“This is not a ‘today’ process,” Siko said. “This is planning and implementation, really taking a look at if this is the best suited way for us to go about fundraising efforts that bolster these events and programs and improvements we’d like to do in the future.”
