Friends of Rose Park (FRP) began in 1997 as a group of neighbors getting together to improve the conditions in the park. In the early days this included Clean-Up-Saturdays and building relationships with the District's Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). Within a year, FRP raised private funds to aerate, fertilize, and seed the parkland owned by the District and to place garbage cans in the federally owned parkland. In the next year, FRP continued this work and expanded work with the National Park Service (NPS) to seed and fertilize the great lawn that exists today, remove dead trees, and do upkeep across the whole park. In 1999, FRP officially filed its 501(c)(3) paperwork and has continued ever since to raise private funds to support activities and services that make Rose Park such an important place for the whole community. Our work includes hiring the market manager and providing insurance for the weekly farmers market, contracting with a landscape firm to provide supplemental upkeep on the District park land, coordinating with DPR and NPS on park planning and tree planting, applying for grants to upgrade the gardens and sporting venues, and organizing community events in the park and at the Farmers Market. Thanks to you, we can all enjoy Rose Park. Thank you!