Who We Are
Friends of 12 Park is a fiscally sponsored organization under the 501 (c)(3) tax code, established in January 2010. Friends Of 12 Park serves as an integral part of the development of the community. As the center of community life, the Friends Of 12 Park diminishes alleged stereotypes of an urban community by complementing the community with an extensive variety of, but not limited to, cultural, educational, social, and recreational programs. These programs provide the opportunity to balance course work and free time as cooperative factors in development. Friends Of 12 Park takes pride in bringing together young boys and girls from the Lower East Side to learn the importance of team work through playing organized Team Sports. We encourage good sportsmanship, respect for our community and each other, and strong team unity. Friends Of 12 Park is run by volunteers who dedicate a great deal of time and effort to maintain and revitalize Henry M Jackson (aka) 12 Park for the benefit of the general public and residents of the Lower East Side and teaching youth Team Sports so that each child’s experience is a positive one. Our belief is that the youth we help today will become constructive members of our community tomorrow.
​
Board members, coaches and parents all work together to teach the physical and mental skills necessary for
playing Team Sports. As a self-supported entity, we furnish the physical facilities, volunteer services and
resources to provide a successful program for the children of our community. Friends Of 12 Park competitive recreational component was established in 2010. Friends Of 12 Park Serviced over 300 children in 2021 we will serve over 500 children this upcoming season. Now we services we provide will help over 500 children in our community and cover Basketball, Baseball, Pickelball, Volleyball, Soccer and One Wall Racquetball.
We believe all people can embrace who they are,
can define their future, and can change the world.
Our Mission
We aim to achieve our mission by working hard to emphasize the following core values:
​
-
Mutual respect for each other.
-
commitment to excellence, innovation, integrity and quality in everything we do.
​
It is the objective of Friends Of 12 Park to:
-
Create an environment that is safe.
-
Provide an opportunity for all players to develop skills and game knowledge.
-
Allow all players to experience the success they are capable of achieving.
-
Teach the life-long lessons of sportsmanship, teamwork, fair play, and respect for authority.
-
In addition, it is the objective of Friends Of 12 Park to offer the players who have the desire and ability to excel in sports an opportunity to experience the best coaching available and maximize their potential.
Challenges
While we have some support from the community at large, a pressing issue for our organization is funding and lack of parental participation. Do to the lack of funds it is extremely difficult to keep children in our program. Field space is also a concern. The closest fields to our organization is the Sol Lain, Baruch Park and the East River Park along the FDR . East River Park is due to close for renovations next year. What we have found is that outside agencies utilize their permits for practice space and not for actual games. We are also in competition with kickball leagues that monopolizes yard and field space. In addition, we do not have adequate storage space which leads to missing equipment or us having to transport our equipment to various locations in shopping carts.