Adopt-A-Park was a Success! Thank YOU!

287 volunteers joined us in person for this year's Adopt-A-Park! Volunteers helped us with a variety of high-impact projects that made a difference in our parks including native tree, shrub, and flower plantings, mulching, trail maintenance, invasive species removal, fence repair, and more! In addition to these in-person projects, volunteers also supported litter pick up with our Adopt-A-Park Service Kits picking up litter in our parks, along our trails and waterways, and in their community greenspaces. 

More than 60 service kits went out into the community, each with enough gloves and trash bags for up to 5 individuals to safely and independently collect litter. We have asked all of these volunteers to report back on their litter collection efforts and we will share that data with you in next month's volunteer newsletter.   

There are many ways to carry this service forward. If you volunteered at this year's event, you received some wildflower seed paper as a thank-you gift. We hope that you will plant those at home, watch them grow, and remember the difference that an individual can make while also supporting our local pollinators. We also hope you will consider joining us again at next year's Adopt-A-Park, making a commitment to this annual day of service. 

Consider joining us for upcoming public volunteer days! Service Saturdays begin in May and run from 9 am-Noon on the third Saturday of each month through September. You can view May's Service Saturday opportunities here and sign up to volunteer.  We hope you'll also consider joining us for Make A Difference Day, Saturday, October 28th from 9 am-Noon. 

Thank you for volunteering and supporting your MetroParks at this year's Adopt-A-Park! 

Adopt-A-Park is Five Rivers MetroParks' annual Earth Day service event and is generously supported by these sponsors: Montgomery County Environmental Services, Keep Montgomery County Beautiful, and QEI Engineers--Thank you! 

 REMINDER

NEW Volunteer Discounts - Last month, in celebration of National Volunteer Month, we announced the expansion of our VIP, Volunteer Incentive Program, to include volunteer discounts! Volunteers with 25 hours or more can now qualify for annual volunteer discounts towards great MetroParks programs and routine rentals. These discounts are awarded annually based on your prior year of service and are good all year long, so you can use them to book a campsite, shelter rental and attend MetroParks programs all year long!

Those volunteers who qualified for the volunteer discount this year based on their 2023 volunteer service have all been notified and are able to start utilizing these discounts right away. Note: You will be prompted to enter a discount code when checking out, please reference your most recent email for the discount code or contact Volunteer Services.

If you think you should qualify, but did not receive an email, or if you have any issues utilizing the discount, please contact volunteer.services@metroparks.org or give us a call at #937-275-7275. 

We'd love to hear from you! If you have already started using your new volunteer discount, drop us an email and let us know what you used it for, how the registration process went, and if you can, include a photo of you enjoying this new benefit.

Did you know you can request your VIP items like t-shirts, long-sleeved shirts, hats, and milestone service pins anytime through our new VIP Item Request Form? We have now expanded this incentive by offering up to 2 shirts and hats per year and including active accumulated service hours. Learn more by clicking this link and request your earned VIP items today! Have questions? Not sure if you qualify, contact Volunteer Services.

 Volunteer Services is available if you have questions or need assistance in signing up. 

Contact us at volunteer.services@metroparks.org or #937-275-7275 (PARK). 

Join us at an upcoming Volunteer Open House! 

Your Volunteer Services Team

Yvonne Dunphe - Outdoor Connections Programming #(937) 277-4147 

Allie Zimmerman - Parks & Conservation #(937) 274-3176 

Janelle Leonard - Administration & Animal Care #(937) 277-5445 

Amanda Wheatley - Ambassador & Special Events #(937) 277-4109 

Jenny Hymans - Human Resources Manager of Volunteer Services #(937) 567-1413