FRIENDS Volunteers are Amazing!!
Hello FRIENDS Volunteers,

I hope this finds you well and anxious to get on the parkway! You spoke and we listened. As a result of our survey, we heard there needs to more communication with our volunteers. We are starting a volunteer-focused monthly newsletter to share successes, needs, and news along the Parkway. Please share content with us so we can share with others!

We hope  The Yellow Vest  newsletter reflects your interests! 

Thanks for all you for the Parkway!
The FRIENDS of the BRP staff


Project Parkway Scheduled for April 27th
If you weren't able to attend last year's event, or can't wait to do it again, get ready for
Project Parkway: Campground Clean Up!

Once again we'll be working on the entire Parkway. We will clean-up the campgrounds and designated areas so they are ready for the season.


April 27, 2019 
          9 am to 12 PM

To sign-up, click the button:
News from the Parkway
The Case of the Missing Sticks!

This story comes to us from our Rocky Knob Chapter located at MP 150-200. 
Libby Wilcox, the chapter chair, held a work day to pick up sticks in the Ground Hog Picnic Area. 

The team of volunteers worked tirelessly all day gathering debris and sticks from the area.  At the end of the day there were about 12 piles of sticks, limbs, and debris. The volunteers left the area with plans to come back the next day and pick up the debris. 

When they arrived the next afternoon the piles were all cleared out and cleaned up! They thought that perhaps the NPS staff had come to pick up the piles but they did not know about the piles of debris. 

To this day it is a mystery what happened to the pile of sticks but some might say it is a Parkway Miracle! If the mysterious helper is out there, thanks for lending a hand!

Volunteers by the Numbers
It is so important to report your volunteer hours.
Why, you ask? 

The National Park Service uses these numbers to gain funding for the following year and the more hours volunteers report the more funding the NPS receives! 

Let's make this a record breaking year!

 
New Volunteer Incentive Program
FRIENDS has started a volunteer incentive program to recognize the outstanding work our volunteers do for the love of the Parkway. Read more about it in the volunteer manual. Click the button below:
We'll keep the tallies below current each month so we can watch the numbers grow! 
 
Top Individual Volunteers of 2019
We congratulate the following volunteers :

Pete Lascell 
97 Hours
Aubrey Arrington  
 93 Hours
Mike Davis  
 86 Hours
Ken Carpenter 80 Hours

They received a Parkway print to celebrate this achievement!

 
Volunteer Hours by Group
October 2018 - March 2019 (NPS Fiscal Year)
Have you been out on the Parkway working? 
Do you have hours to report?  
  • Email them to: staff@friendsbrp.org
  • Mail them to: PO Box 20986, Roanoke, VA 24018
  • Or click the button below to send them through the Google form
NOTE: If you are part of a chapter, check with your chapter chair about how to enter your hours. They may be sending them in for you. 
 
Amazing Adopters: Overlooks, Trails and Cemeteries
It's Getting to be that Time of the Year

Let's start to check on adopted 
overlooks, trails,  and c emeteries

Parkway season is around the corner! If you have adopted a parkway landmark please check on it and make sure it is ready for the season. Please make sure it is litter free and clear of debris! If there is a larger problem NPS needs to address please pass that along to our office.

We love to hear from our adopters so if you have a concern or story to share, please reach out to our office.
Be sure to check your mailboxes at the end of the month for a little token of our appreciation that will help keep you safe on the parkway!

ADOPTERS ARE AMAZING!!
Upcoming Events
April 2019


FRIENDS Rocky Knob Chapter Hosts WCU Alternative Break Students
Chapter Project
April 11-14th
Floyd, VA
Blue Ridge Marathon
Volunteer Opportunity
April 13th
Roanoke, VA
Cemetery Documentation Training
Training
April 23rd
10am-2:30pm
MP 136
Project Parkway
Volunteer Opportunity
April 27th 
Campground Clean-Up Park-wide
May 2019


Concert Kick-Off Event: 
Blue Mountain Brewery
Social 
Event		 May 4th Afton, VA
Concert Kick-Off Event: 
Beale's
Social 
Event		 May 11th Bedford, VA
Concert Kick-Off Event: 
Parkway Brewery
Social
Event		 May 18th Roanoke, VA
Assault on Mt. Mitchell
 Volunteer Opportunity May 20th Asheville, NC
Concert Kick-Off Event:  
Buffalo Mountain Brewery
Social
Event		 May 25th Floyd, VA
November 2019


Night on the Parkway Gala Social Event
/Fundraiser		 November 1st Roanoke, VA
Fitzpatrick Hall at the 
Jefferson Center


Are you a member of FRIENDS?
As a FRIENDS  volunteer , you give your  TIME  for the love of the park! 

But have you ever wondered how the vistas are restored or the demonstration gardens are funded? 

Our  members support the work of NPS staff and FRIENDS volunteers. Every year we create a list of funding requests that we hope to fulfill, our members help us do that and also receive some sweet benefits beyond helping the park!

For $30 you can become a member of FRIENDS and help the park and other volunteers!

Preparing for 2019 FRIENDS Workplan
 The coming months will be spent preparing for work that will be tackled along the Parkway during 2019. Here are some FRIENDS Workplan highlights:
Project:
Description:
Cost:
Youth Interns Internships introduce students to a career with NPS. Interns work at visitor centers and cultural sites.
$4,120
Junior Ranger Program Support Provide materials for the nearly 5,000 youth who participate in the program annually.
$2,500
Project Parkway: Work materials (gloves, etc)  A Park initiative to clean up campgrounds before the season. 
$2,000
Ridge Farm & Brinegar Cabin Demonstration Garden Support Gardens are symbolic representations of the types of food grown by mountain families in the 1890s. Funds are used for garden seeds and general garden tools.
$950
Youth Outdoors Program at Crabtree Falls The FRIENDS Chapter will be working with local youth (schools & clubs) who want to come out and help clean up the Parkway. The chapter has a general tool request to cover larger groups of children.
$500
Repair or Replace Picnic Tables at Craggy Garden & Crabtree Falls Picnic Areas Many tables need repair ($200) or replacement ($2,400). FRIENDS will assist NPS staff with repairs as funding becomes available.
Variable depending on need to repair or replace
Graffiti Removal Removing graffiti is a constant chore for FRIENDS volunteers. The use of a special anti-graffiti paint is applied to signs to make removal easier. The cost per gallon is $100.
$1,000
Inaugural Music Series at Peaks of Otter In its first year, there will be 4 concerts scheduled at the Peaks of Otter Visitor Center Amphitheater. Each concert is $150. 
$600
Traditional Music Series at Mabry Mill Mabry Mill hosts over 20 concerts per season. Each concert is $125.  
$2,750

Want to support a project that speaks to your interests? Any dollar amount helps get us closer to completing a project.
Connect with your local FRIENDS chapter!

Humpback Rocks:
 Humpback@FriendsBRP.org
Peaks of Otter:  
 PeaksOtter@friendsbrp.org
Roanoke Valley:
 Roanoke@FriendsBRP.org
Rocky Knob: 
 RockyKnob@FriendsBRP.org
Fisher Peak:
 FisherPeak@FriendsBRP.org
Northern Highlands: 
 NorthernHighlands@FriendsBRP.org
High Country: 
 HighCountry@FriendsBRP.org
Crabtree Falls:
 Crabtree@FriendsBRP.org
Asheville:
 Asheville@FriendsBRP.org
 
Volunteer Resources
Click the links below to quickly access resources:
Have information to share in an upcoming issue? Please email Julie Whalen with details.


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