Ongoing partnerships like those with Urban Ecology Center, the operators of the beer gardens and others, have helped bring new attention, new vibrancy and new funding to Milwaukee County Parks – that so-called green and grand necklace draped around the area.
Now, the County has found another way to help celebrate the parks and tap a new source of income for them. A range of merch is now available at ParksforGood.com, created in partnership with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.
The profits from sales at the site will be deposited into a parks improvement fund, to which businesses and individuals can also make tax-deductible donations.
The fund will support seven areas of need, including playgrounds, trails & natural areas, community centers, aquatic facilities, parkways & bridges, athletic facilities and engagement. Donors and merch purchasers can select the area they’d like their money to support.
The merchandise available includes Milwaukee Woof Pack dog bandanas, shirts and stickers, T-shirts, posters designed by local artists (Gabriela Riveros, Jeff McAvoy, Linda Bleck, Dwellephant, Rozalia Singh and Lauren Marvell), iron-on patches and stickers.
You can find the complete range of items here.
Klement’s Sausage sweetened the pot with an inaugural donation of $25,000.
"Milwaukee County residents are passionate about our parks and eager to find ways to support them," said County Executive Chris Abele in a news release. "This is a great way for everyone to get involved in making our fantastic County parks even better and help us improve these critically important community spaces."
A new series of posters by Milwaukee artists will be available each year and applications for interested artists are now open for the 2019 Maptacular series.
"This new parks fund is a big win for Milwaukee County," said Executive Director of Milwaukee County Parks Guy Smith in the release. "We've been working with Milwaukee artists to create exclusive designs, Milwaukee businesses to create the merchandise, and sales will support Milwaukee parks projects, too. Plus, of course, the merch will make perfect gifts for anyone who loves Milwaukee parks!"
Here are some of my favorite designs:
Beer garden patch
Subway-style Oak Leaf Trail map poster
Domes T-shirt
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
