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PCF Appoints Betty and Charles McKenney “Environmental Ambassadors” for its 60th Anniversary Celebration

Published on Thursday, February 21, 2013 | 10:08 pm
 
Betty and Charles McKenney. Photo by Evan Robinson

The Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF), is pleased to announce the appointment of Betty and Charles “Kicker” McKenney as “Environmental Ambassadors” as part of its 60th Anniversary celebration. Known as “The Constant Gardeners,” the McKenneys are the founders of Arlington Garden , Pasadena ’s only dedicated public garden. With the Foundation counting down to its 60th Anniversary celebration this October 2013, these longtime champions of urban open space will help the Foundation spotlight worthy environmental charities and non-profits in the Pasadena area..

“The Foundation has an emerging interest in the environment as one of its six, primary funding areas,” states Jennifer DeVoll , executive director of the Foundation. “Pasadena has 25 parks and additional significant natural open spaces in the Arroyo and Eaton Canyon as well as several plazas and significant public landscaping. With the McKenneys’ extraordinary dedication and commitment to the transformation of a vacant lot into a Mediterranean garden for all to enjoy, we felt they were a perfect choice to raise the visibility of local organizations working to preserve and enhance Pasadena’s natural resources.

“Nature touches people deeply and personally,” says Mr. McKenney. “It reinvigorates the spirit and restores the soul. Urban open spaces provide respite from the bustle of the city and are as durable and lovely a monument as the most wonderfully architected skyscraper. Support of gardens and open space is a profound gift to the community that provides the donor with a tangible and lasting return on investment.”

The Pasadena Community Foundation is engaged in community partnerships to plant gardens, improve parks and plant trees in Pasadena. In 2012, the Foundation, in collaboration with the Pasadena Beautiful Foundation and the City of Pasadena , raised $88,000 to replant the over 2,000 public street trees damaged in the 2011 windstorms.

Also in 2012 PCF announced it would manage La Casita Foundation’s endowment. La Casita Foundation was established by members of the Pasadena Garden Club in 1988 to maintain the gardens of La Casita del Arroyo for public enjoyment. The gardens demonstrate sound horticultural and water conservation practices through the use of good design and available methods of water-saving irrigation.

PCF has also funded projects to re-landscape gardens at the Pasadena Senior Center and the Santa Catalina Library, while another environmental grant funded a program at Pasadena ’s Aveson Charter School so children could learn the value of recycling.

Currently PCF is acting as a fiscal sponsor for the Pasadena Community Garden Conservancy, a new organization dedicated to providing long-term stewardship and financial support for community gardens for the people of Pasadena . Community garden projects are emerging throughout the city at schools, churches and on city-owned properties.

The Pasadena Community Foundation was established in 1953 by Pasadena philanthropists Mr. & Mrs. Louis Webb who pledged their estate to the Foundation. PCF raises and manages endowments to provide funding to six targeted areas, each representing important resources that merit support in the Pasadena community. These include: Arts & Culture, Education, Environment, Health, Human Services, and Youth. Grants are distributed across these broad areas to ensure that the diversity of riches in the community is preserved for the next generation.

For more information on the Pasadena Community Foundation, please visit www.pasadenacf.org.

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