Corinne --
As we prepare for our small Thanksgiving celebrations, we, the Friends Board, are grateful for many things. We'll highlight our top items here:
We are most grateful for our Friends -- the volunteers on stand-by for when we can resume work parties, and our donors who made our annual fundraising drive a success. Donors took advantage of the 1-for-1 match, and we raised a total of $2290! Our ability to help NPS restore and improve the park is directly influenced by the support of our volunteers and our donors. We look forward to a brighter year in 2021, when we can restart our volunteer projects.
The National Park Service continues to be an amazing partner for the Friends, and they have been working behind the scenes throughout the pandemic period on future Park improvements.
NPS is reviewing their draft Cultural Landscape Inventory, with plans to release the final report over the winter. NPS is also considering where a major restoration of Titanic Memorial Park fits in their overall park rehabilitation plans, supported by the Great American Outdoors Act which was signed into law on August 4, 2020.
NPS maintenance crews continue to be severely understaffed due to COVID-19 restrictions, which have most Park employees working from home. NPS is aware of the issues like lights that are out. We'll all need to be patient for a while longer, and understanding of the unique challenges this pandemic creates for them.
We always have gratitude for our beautiful park, and especially this year, we have great joy seeing friends and neighbors visit the park for fishing, exercise, picnics, childplay, reading, and relaxation. The past work of all of the Friends to restore and maintain the benches, and beautify the landscape has enabled the park to remain a place of respite since March, despite a small drop in maintenance.
Thank you for your continued support of the Park!
Corinne Irwin, Chair
Friends of Titanic Memorial Park