La Mesa Parks and Recreation Foundation Rocks!

Last week was crazy busy with too many things to cover all at once. But I did manage to make a swing by the La Mesa Parks and Recreation Foundation’s La Mesa Rocks fundraiser. You can see pictures from the event on our Cal Social page this week. This Foundation, created in 1999 to lead fundraising efforts for a 23-acre sports complex at Parkway Middle School, now the Junior Seau Sports Complex, was made possible by more than $1 million granted towards construction of the complex.

Last week was crazy busy with too many things to cover all at once. But I did manage to make a swing by the La Mesa Parks and Recreation Foundation’s La Mesa Rocks fundraiser. You can see pictures from the event on our Cal Social page this week. This Foundation, created in 1999 to lead fundraising efforts for a 23-acre sports complex at Parkway Middle School, now the Junior Seau Sports Complex, was made possible by more than $1 million granted towards construction of the complex. And this Foundation is rocking on with its current campaign “It’s Child’s Play,” which will renovate five La Mesa Parks. And that is the goal of the Foundation, is to step in and help provide the community open spaces and surpass what the City of La Mesa is able to do with its own funds. They have a plan of action, people in the community that support the Foundation and most of all people of the community that are willing to work hard and make it happen.

John Fonseca, current Foundation Board President said that the fundraiser was important to the community, and with this fundraiser, it would help create a better atmosphere, provide money for better equipment and aids the City of La Mesa’s Parks and Recreation Department in providing prime outdoor space for the community to enjoy. The Foundation also provides special events for the community throughout the year. Fonseca believes in the work of the Foundation that started about three years ago, and immediately, with the help of dedicated Foundation board members began a campaign to rebrand, updating its website, new logo and promote larger events that produce better results for the community. He said incorporating businesses and the citizens of La Mesa is a big reason that the Foundation is successful and growing. And this trend of making La Mesa a better place for the entire community is seen in all that attended the event.

In speaking with Foundation Board Member Laurie MacDonald she said this particular fundraiser was significant, as it is the first large fundraiser that the Foundation has done since its reinvention and hopes to see many more like this in the future because everything that comes out of it is good for the community of La Mesa. She said Vista La Mesa Park is next on slate for major improvements, and it is fundraisers like this that will not only bring in the money to make the improvements, but also gets the community involved in improving the neighborhoods that they live and play in. MacDonald, born and raised in La Mesa, said her interest in joining the Foundation’s efforts came from her lifelong use of the parks. She uses them for her kids, dogs and these local community parks have been a large part of her life for many years and in many ways. She talked about how much she loved growing up in the La Mesa community and this is one of the ways that she is able to give back what the city has provided for her and her family.

Held at the Lakeside Community Center, a hub for just about everything La Mesa, this event provided live music, a cocktail hour to mingle and network, dinner, live and silent auctions and even a Cornhole Tournament. Auction items were impressive, the live music was fantastic, and getting to get to know more of the people that make La Mesa a go to destination for outsiders and a prime destination for living. My only regret was that I was unable to stay and be part of the entire evening. In the short time I was there, I met some wonderful and dedicated people that are striving to make their home a better place for everyone.

La Mesa Parks and Recreation Foundation is a prime example of what our local communities need to make our open urban areas a place that can be utilized for the entire community. But it takes people’s involvement in the community in ways like this to make wonderful things like this happen. Not only people that call a community home, but the businesses that are successful because of the community, and also the people that have the ability to make sure that they or the organization they work with is seen and heard. And this Foundation is doing a great job of it. So, this particular fundraiser’s theme was befitting, because this Foundation rocks!