Friends of the Parks

Our Mission

Friends of the Parks is a 46-year old non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire, equip, and mobilize a diverse Chicago to ensure an equitable park system for a healthy Chicago.

Friends of the Parks envisions a well-balanced Chicago park system, protected by Chicagoans for Chicagoans, to advance the individual, community, public, ecological, and economic health and well-being of our city.

Friends of the Parks believes that a healthy park system:

• is equitably distributed and resourced
• contributes to inclusivity and democracy
• offers a balance of recreational and natural resources
• contributes to neighborhood safety
• ensures gathering spaces that help to build community
• supports the rejuvenation of the body, mind, and spirit
• promotes the health of our environment
• forms part of a healthy economic base for our neighborhoods and the city

Friends of the Parks’ Key Programs

Neighborhood Parks

Policy and Advocacy

Environmental Education