Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 8/16/2023
LUDLOW — Joe Lupa from the Recreation Commission and Kelly DeGobbi helped start a new nonprofit called the Friends of the Ludlow Park.
Friends of Ludlow Parks was created to engage community members in the preservation of Ludlow Parks.
So far, the organization has had six separate clean-up days focused on Whitney, Memorial and West Street parks along with the Ludlow Mills Riverwalk.
Lupa said he is excited with the amount of support the group has already received.
With almost 200 followers on social media, Lupa said the cleanup days have been going good so far.
“We are just really happy that we are able to provide a level of engagement with the community,” he added.
The group has cleaned up items from broken glass, alcohol containers, drug paraphernalia, car parts, cans, scrap pieces of metal, scrap plastics, cigarette butts, lighters and oil cans.
Lupa said, “The chance to partner with determined community members really excites me for the future. This work will teach kids to respect their community, encourage community families to engage in civic development, and ultimately impart the sense of pride for our hometown.”
Anywhere from 10 to 20 volunteers have attended the cleanup days but it is the groups of people who are showing up that Lupa said is making him inspired.
He said, “There were not just adults showing up, not just the busy bodies, not just people trying to get recognized, it was also parents with their kids and a group of youth involvement. A major desire on my end is we can instill a sense of town pride in kids that they are not just fulfilling community service hours, they are not doing what they are being told by their parents.”
The Friends of Ludlow Parks will be hosting a meeting to attract more members and set goals.
There will be an interest meeting on Thursday, Aug. 24, at the Hubbard Memorial Library at 5 p.m. to discuss nonprofit status for this effort, vote on leadership and agree on bylaws.
They will be seeking members to fill the president, vice president, treasurer and secretary position along with subcommittee roles.
Lupa and De Gobbi want to brainstorm ways fundraise, increase community engagement and volunteerism and advocacy for the parks.
“This group is for anyone in the town that wants to be a part of a community initiative to clean up or develop assistance for programs at the parks or for the summer camps that want to have a hand in seeing things come to fruition that we have been saying we want,” Lupa added.