illi News - Riverdale receives grant to bring accessibility to Clark Park

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RIVERDALE, Ill. - illiNews -- Trust for Public Land (TPL), in partnership with outdoor lifestyle brand L.L.Bean, announced that Riverdale Park District is one of the recipients of the seventh round of the L.L.Bean Community Awards.

To promote equitable access to nature and foster community bonds, L.L.Bean initiated a partnership with Trust for Public Land in 2018, investing $1 million in outdoor access projects across the country. The partnership has been instrumental in ensuring that more individuals can enjoy outdoor spaces in their respective communities, funding 21 projects across 16 states that create or enhance access to a park or public space for over 62,000 residents within a 10-minute walk of their home.

Clark Park, a narrow green space in the majority-Black Village of Riverdale, currently lacks basic infrastructure like sidewalks and accessible paths, limiting its use despite being within a 10-minute walk of over 2,100 households. Building on the success of recent improvements at nearby Pekny Park, this project will add an ADA-accessible path to Clark Park, making it more functional and welcoming for the community.

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"This year's awardees are transforming the outdoors in creative and meaningful ways—turning community-driven ideas into lasting change," said Carrie Besnette Hauser, President and CEO of Trust for Public Land. "From revitalized parks to outdoor learning, these projects exemplify how local leadership and community vision can create more equitable, resilient, and joyful places to live. We're honored to support their work through our partnership with L.L.Bean and to help bring these inspiring ideas to life."

"As an outdoor lifestyle brand, we engage in partnerships that inspire and enable people to experience the restorative power of being outside," said Shawn Gorman, Chairman of the Board and great-grandson of L.L.Bean. "The L.L.Bean Community Awards program, created in partnership with the Trust for Public Land, sets the standard and continues to result in outcomes that we are very proud of."

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Access to the outdoors is a fundamental human need – contributing to mental and physical health, social cohesion, and improving resiliency to flooding and extreme heat – yet there is a significant outdoor equity gap in America. According to TPL data, over one in three people in the United States, including 28 million children, do not have access to a park within a 10-minute walk of home.

L.L.Bean's investment will continue to support TPL's movement to address this disparity and put a quality park within a 10-minute walk of every person in America. Additional grants will continue to be awarded annually through the partnership and given to multiple worthy community projects across the nation.