Timberland Revisits Philadelphia’s Rail Park One Year After Transformational Service Event
While community service is a core part of Timberland’s DNA, and employees around the globe volunteer at many events each year, we don’t always have the chance to return to the partners we serve and see the lasting impact of our work. I recently was able to revisit the Philadelphia Rail Park, which was the focus of Timberland’s 2017 urban greening effort and the site of a large-scale volunteer event to bring the park to life. We partnered with Center City District Foundation to help create the park, and came together again on XXX date to co-host a tour of the site for companies attending the Sustainable Brands New Metrics Conference.
Green spaces play a vital role in strengthening communities. They provide locations for communities to gather, allow residents to know their neighbors, and enable people to be in the presence of trees and greenery that can enhance individual wellbeing.
The Rail Park opened to the public in June of this year, and it was an incredible experience to revisit it this fall, after it had been open for few months. I arrived in advance of the start time for the tour and had a chance to witness the initial promise of the Rail Park as I watched individuals, couples and families stroll the .25 mile elevated park, take a break to enjoy the view from the many benches, and delight on the industrial swings.
About 15 people from member companies of Sustainable Brands joined me at the park to hear and see first-hand how the private sector can be pivotal in moving public initiatives forward. “We are grateful for Timberland’s generous support of the construction of Phase 1 of the Rail Park. Contributions from private sector partners are essential for such transformative projects, especially when public funding is constrained,” said Paul R. Levy, President and CEO of the Center City District. “Timberland’svolunteer event in the fall of 2017 helped install landscaping—an important step in shaping this new green space in a neighborhood lacking parks and public gathering space. Timberland’s commitment not only attracted media coverage, it generated a fresh wave of awareness, enthusiasm and funding that helped us complete this phase of the project.”
Timberland is committed to greening urban communities and we have greened 130,000 square feet since 2016. The success of our urban greening events in 2016 and 2017 inspired Timberland and our wholesale partner, Journeys, to enhance community green spaces in not one, but three cities this year: Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. Given how important green spaces are to healthy living in urban areas, we have also expanded our five year 2016 commitment to green 500,000 square feet of green space by 2023.
I’m incredibly proud of the work that Timberland is doing to transform communities for the people who live there. I hope to be able to revisit all our sites, many times in the future and see, as I did at the Philly Rail Park, the smiles, enjoyment, and overall value that they bring to the community.
