Partners for Parks advocates for county green spaces
Local nonprofit Partners for Parks helps maintain the county's green spaces and raises funds for local parks, greenways and camp scholarships
The following article appeared in the July 16, 2025, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Charity spotlight: Local nonprofit supports maintenance of Charlotte’s parks and greenways
Members of the Partners for Parks board of directors manned a table at the Mecklenburg County Trail of History earlier this spring. (Photo courtesy of Partners for Parks)
by Clara Dunn
Exploring parks and greenways is the best way to get to know a city, says Rachel Orn, the marketing director for Partners for Parks. When she moved to Charlotte, that’s the first thing she did.
Since 1996, Partners for Parks, a nonprofit that raises and distributes money to Charlotte’s 200+ parks and green spaces, has built playgrounds, assisted Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department with park and greenway maintenance, and established summer camp scholarships.
The importance of the organization’s work was most apparent during Covid, Orn said. During a time when people were confined to their homes, Charlotte residents took to their local parks and greenways for an escape. Orn said that having well-maintained outdoor areas keeps a community healthy, physically and mentally.
“We do it for [the community] and for us,” she said.
Partners for Parks is volunteer-run, so “everyone’s there because they want to be,” Orn said.
The nonprofit is mostly funded by donations from corporations and individuals. Donors can put their money into a general fund or send it to a specific park or greenway. Partners for Parks once received a $100,000 donation to put toward Pearl Street Park, which sits in a historically Black neighborhood in Midtown.
Partners for Parks also works closely with Sustain Charlotte, a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging cleaner and healthier transportation in Charlotte.
The best way for the community to get involved in their work is through monetary donations, Orn said. The organization hopes to have a volunteer and membership program up and running by the end of 2025 for those who wish to be more directly involved.
Clara Dunn is an intern for The Charlotte Ledger. She is a rising sophomore at Boston University and attended high school at Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte.
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