Thomas Rice, President of the Foundation of Grand Terrace and Mike Auld, Foundation Member and Chair of the Grand Terrace Dog Park Committee, presented a check in the amount of $3,000 to the Grand Terrace Dog Park Endowment Fund, at Tuesday night’s City Council Meeting (Sep. 12, 2017). The Dog Park Endowment Fund was established after the City Council expressed its desire to create a restricted fund for the safekeeping of funds to support ongoing operations and activities of the dog park, in Grand Terrace.
The Foundation’s donation of $3,000 propelled the Grand Terrace Dog Park Endowment Fund nearly half-way toward its 2017 goal of $14,000. The City is currently offering residents an opportunity to sponsor benches at the dog park, for $500, $1,000 or $1,500. Funds received from bench sponsorships go directly into the Grand Terrace Dog Park Endowment Fund. Donors will receive recognition of their contribution with a plaque at their preferred park bench location (based on availability). Mr. Auld was one of the first to sponsor a bench at the dog park and encouraged other residents to do the same, “Through the endowment, we are able to maintain basic maintenance and repair at our Dog Park, without having to tap into the wallets of the citizens of Grand Terrace… I put my money where my mouth is … and I encourage anyone else to do that.”
Mayor Darcy McNaboe offered her sincere appreciation of the Foundation’s efforts, “Thank you to The Foundation of Grand Terrace volunteers for the generous donation supporting the inception of the Dog Park Endowment Fund. In addition to this monetary contribution, I appreciate the time and dedication of the Dog Park Committee members. The establishment and funding of this endowment fund will help keep alive what they have worked to create.”
The arrival of the dog park has been a dream in the works for about a decade for the Grand Terrace Dog Park Committee. The project broke ground on Tuesday, August 29, 2017. There are a number of dog park bench locations still available for sponsorship. Donations made to the Dog Park Endowment Fund are qualified charitable contributions and are tax deductible. For more information, visit: http://www.grandterrace-ca.gov/dog-park.html.