Here’s the list:

For Everyone On Your List:

The gift that keeps on giving—a Parklands Membership! Starting at just $35, you can give someone the joy of supporting Louisville’s newest park system. But that’s not all! Membership comes with perks, like free and discounted Parklands programming, Members-only events and deals from local retail partners. A great last minute gift.

http://www.theparklands.org/become-a-member.html

For Your Best Friend:

December is a great time to purchase a Louisville Dog Run Association Membership! Membership is annual, so this gift offers a year’s worth of access to each of LDRA’s dog runs around town, including the brand new Barklands of Beckley Creek Park!

http://www.louisvilledogs.org/

For The Party Host/Hostess:

Bluegrass soy or Kentuckyaki from Work The Metal. Show your Parklands Membership card to receive 10% off these local products that are sure to say “thanks” to the host and hostess with the mostest.

http://workthemetal.com/

For Mom:

Mom’s love homemade gifts, so come to our Cocoa and Canvas Event on Decemeber 20^th in Beckley Creek Park to paint a beautiful cardinal in a winter scene. Or visit Wine and Canvas’ web site for other painting opportunities. Parklands Members get $5 off—Mom will be so impressed!

http://www.wineandcanvas.com/louisville-elizabethtown-ky.html 

For Dad:

Treat Dad to an oil change or other service at Parklands Perks Partner, Big O Tires! And you save $5 off of oil changes, and some other purchases and services when you show your Parklands Membership card.

http://www.bigotires.com/

For Your Girlfriend or Sister:

Spread the local love with a bottle (or two) from Old 502 Winery. You may have tasted these fine wines with fun names at a recent Members-only tasting at the Gheens Foundation Lodge.

http://old502.com/

For Your Boyfriend or Brother:

Keep the Louisville legend alive with a “Goatman Lives” t-shirt featuring the Pope Lick Monster, said to live along the train trestle in Pope Lick Park.

http://www.whylouisville.com/

For Your Son or Daughter:

Give the gift of fun! Purchase a Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Fishing License (for anglers 16 and older) and help protect, preserve and enhance the sport of fishing in our state. Then double the fun with a fishing trip to William F. Miles Lakes or Floyds Fork in Beckley Creek Park.

http://takemefishing.org/ 

For Grandma and Grandpa:

Create a custom photo ornament from CafePress- Mall St. Matthews. This is another locally-based company, and Parklands Members receive 10% off.

http://www.cafepress.com/in/louisville/

For Your Spouse or (Human) Best Friend:

Give an award-winning coffee table book with beautiful photos, stories and natural history tidbits relating to the Floyds Fork area and The Parklands. A portion of proceeds supports Parklands annual operations.  

http://www.butlerbooks.com/theparklands.html

• (function(d, s, id) {
  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
  js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
  js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=289268557818459”;
  fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
  }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
• Tweet
  !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?’http’:’https’;if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+’://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js’;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, ‘script’, ‘twitter-wjs’);

• (function() {
  var po = document.createElement(‘script’); po.type = ‘text/javascript’; po.async = true;
  po.src = ‘https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js’;
  var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s);
  })();

About the Author

Ellen has been the Director of Development at 21st Century Parks since April of 2015. In this role she oversees fundraising functions for The Parklands, including the annual fund/membership campaign, corporate sponsorships, supporting the Board of Directors, leading major fundraising events, and seeking grant and foundational support. It’s her goal to create multiple compelling opportunities for donors to support The Parklands, a donor-supported public park that does not receive tax dollar support on an annual basis but has four world-class parks free and open to the public 365 days a year.

Although fairly new to this role, Ellen is intimately familiar with The Parklands as she spent the previous 3 years as the Communications Manager in charge of public relations, social media, community outreach and marketing for the parks. Before joining 21st Century Parks she spent three years with Louisville-based advertising agency Doe-Anderson. Her background also includes marketing and account service roles at Anheuser-Busch InBev, PriceWeber advertising agency, and direct mail marketing at Traffic Builders, Inc. Ellen is a graduate of Marietta College where she studied advertising, public relations and marketing and played volleyball. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, camping, and traveling with her two mutts and her husband Andrew.