Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation Announces Over $1 Million in New Gifts
DALLAS (Nov. 8, 2011) – The Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation announced at a press conference today over $1 million in new donations to The Park, 5.2-acres of public green space that will bridge over the Woodall Rodgers Freeway in downtown Dallas. A $500,000 donation from the Rotary Club of Dallas will celebrate the Rotary’s Centennial anniversary through a commemorative emblem etched into the Learning Tree Deck in the Park’s children’s garden.
After a ceremonial Rotary membership pinning of Mayor Rawlings, the Foundation thanked lead Rotary donors Ebby Halliday, Allison Stemmons, daughter of the late John Stemmons, Craig Hutton and the Henry S. Miller family, as well as 39 additional contributions from individual Rotary members.
"The Rotary has a long legacy of leadership and community giving," said Ben Casey, president of the Rotary Club of Dallas. "The Rotary’s emblem in the storytelling deck will be a physical marker sharing our club’s core values that we hope will attract a new generation of Rotary members."
The Rotary’s Four-Way Test will be inlaid into the wood Learning Tree deck around a large Oak tree. The 15,000 square foot children’s garden will feature play areas, a fountain, a child-scale amphitheater, sand area, family-size restroom, movable furniture, a drinking fountain and play structures.
With the addition of these new donations, The Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation has raised $56.7 million in public funds and $37 million in private donations to date and aims to raise an additional $16 million to reach its $110 million project goal. Construction is well under way with a projected opening date of fall 2012. The final beam placement and first landscaping will occur in late 2011.
Recent donations from the Community Impact Fund of The Dallas Foundation, William T. and Gay F. Solomon, The Crescent, Fountain Place, Trammell Crow Center and The Owners of Museum Tower boosted capital campaign efforts.
“Everything we do stems from our commitment to our office and retail customers and the community that surrounds us,” said John Zogg, Crescent Real Estate managing director and a founding director of The Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation, about The Crescent, Fountain Place and Trammell Crow Center's collective donation. “The Park initiative is a tangible way for us to promote unity between downtown and uptown, and we are excited to be a part of it.”
“The Rotary Club of Dallas is one of our city’s marquee organizations, and we are particularly proud to have this very meaningful commitment,” said Jody Grant, chairman of The Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation.
The Rotary donation includes contributions from the following: Robert H. and Mary A. Dilworth, Dr. Thomas and Annie Faye Franklin, George E. Ashley, Ben and Sue Casey, Gary and Peggy Cole, Dennis and Anne Connally, Judge and Mrs. Harold Entz, Joe Kearley, Charles J. Read, Oliver and Sharon Revell, William F. Sanderson, Jr., David and Barbara Vilbig, Mark and Sally Cullum, John and Bonner DeShazo, the William Schilling family, Larry Foster, Neil and Mary Anderson, Hon. Gary Griffith, Hansjorg and Rosario Heppe, Rotary Club of Park Cities, Preston Center Rotary Club, the Abercrombie family, In Memory of Bill and Sue Cooper, the Brown family, Steve Jermone Cotton, John and Linda Forest, Jim and Lia Frankiewicz, Chip and Beth Glispin, Clifton and Delia Griffin, Heather Jennings, Richard S. Neely, Jim and Karen Palmer, Sunny Parks, William C. and Phyllis A. Slicker, Richard and June Tesauro, John and Kathy Ward, James and Dona Griffith, Eric Anderson, and Miles Zitmore.
About The Park
The Park will serve as a central gathering space for Dallas and its visitors to enjoy in the heart of the city. The 5.2-acre park will create an urban green space over the existing Woodall Rodgers Freeway between Pearl and St. Paul Streets in downtown Dallas. Plans include a performance stage, restaurant, shaded walking paths, a dog park, a children’s garden, great lawn, water features, an area for games and much more.
# # #