July 5, 2018
Pogo Park & Vision to Learn join together for our second annual FREE EYE EXAMS to children at 720 Elm Avenue, Richmond, CA. — Elm Playlot (Pogo Park #1) on July 13, 2018 from 10am to 2:30pm.
Click here to read more.
Latest News
July 3, 2018
West County First 5 Center offers a 6-week Exploratory Play program at Elm Playlot this summer. Children ages 0-5 and their parents or guardians are invited to participate together in this program on Wednesdays 11am – 12pm, from July 18 to August 15. Adult participation is required.
-Storytime
-Playtime
-Explore & Discover
This program is FREE!
For more information, call West County First 5 Center at (510) 232-5650.
May 26, 2018
When researchers from around the world gathered to study Pogo Park’s Elm Playlot as a model community to fight climate change, the Richmond Pulse wrote this story:
Pogo Park is an International Example of Community – Richmond Pulse
January 31, 2018
Luciano del Rio, 30, is a community activist who grew up in Richmond, which has had a long history of violent crime. Prior to what Elm Playlot has become today, the area used to be one that parents wouldn’t feel comfortable sending their kids to go play in, he said.
Today, local residents recognize it as a bubble of safety, said Toody Maher, executive director and founder of Pogo Park, a non-profit that maintains Elm Playlot and spearheaded its renovation.
“Everyone knows if you’re going do bad things, do not do it in or around the parks,” she said.
The park has become an important part of the neighborhood and has provided a space for area residents to meet and socialize with one another, Maher said. It also hosts a variety of programming including zumba classes, a chess club, a mobile petting zoo, and free vision screenings for children.
“Now families want to move in the area because there’s a park that they can come in and is within their vicinity,” del Rio said. [continue reading below]
Latino Activists Advocate for Urban Parks – NBC News
January 10, 2018
Longtime friend and board member Galen Hoskin passed away in January 2018. Please read about his life in this tribute from his memorial.
January 8, 2018
The Conservation Fund delineates Pogo Park’s approach to community development in a blogpost:
Transforming Parks and Lives in Richmond, California’s Iron Triangle Neighborhood.
November 20, 2017
The Trust for Public Land and City Parks Alliance issued a definitive “Field Guide for Creative Placemaking” that featured Pogo Park’s Elm Playlot project as 1 of 11 exemplary case studies. The case studies feature the best projects in North America and showcase how great parks are being used as vehicles for creative placemaking. Being featured in the Field Guide catapulted Pogo Park into the national spotlight and put us on the map of a high-impact, must-see creative placemaking project.
November 17, 2017
Philanthropic Ventures Foundation wrote about Pogo Park in a blogpost detailing Pogo Park’s success over the last decade:
Celebrating the Success of Pogo Park – Philanthropic Ventures
November 11, 2017
NBC News describes Pogo Park’s model for innovation in this online story: California Group Remaking Tough City, One Park at a Time, NBC News.
