You can volunteer at NYC parks alongside the cast of ‘Wicked’

Your summer is about to get a little more green—literally. On Thursday, June 15, NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue alongside President and CEO of the Partnership for New York City Kathryn Wylde announced a new summertime volunteer series in partnership with the cast of Wicked, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary on Broadway this year. 

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To support NYC Park's Let’s Green NYC! initiative and the We ❤️ NYC campaign, the partnership will bring theater and park lovers together to volunteer at local green spaces alongside company members from the Tony Award-winning musical and members of the Broadway Green Alliance. The program will be hitting Riverside Park in Manhattan on Thursday, June 22 from 11am to 2pm, Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens on Sunday, July 9 from 10am to 1pm, and Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx on Friday, August 11 between 10am and 1pm. No experience or equipment is necessary to help with the park beautification, which will include tasks like pulling weeds, spreading mulch and picking up litter. You can sign up to join the volunteering events at the NYC Parks website. 

"Volunteering in a city park brings you closer to nature and to your fellow New Yorkers—and now, it can bring you closer to Broadway stars!" said Sue Donoghue. "We might not be the Emerald City, but with park volunteering events in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens, NYC is teeming with opportunities to get involved in our shared greenspaces. This initiative shows New Yorkers that, when it comes to greening our city, together we're unlimited. Join us for Let's Green NYC and be part of something wonderful!" 

"With almost 1,000 playgrounds, more than 800 sports fields, 10,000 acres of natural areas, and a total of more than 5,000 individual properties, Parks is New York City’s largest steward of open space and takes its role as caretaker seriously," NYC Parks said in a press release. "In recent years, informal surveying by Parks has estimated that around 230,000 New Yorkers volunteer with their parks annually. Further research conducted by the Partnership for New York City found that 73% of young New Yorkers are prepared to volunteer to help with our city’s resurgence, though many don’t know how."

Well, now you do! So, let’s get our hands dirty and change our parks for good.