Grandmother Park Initiative, a non-profit initiative to develop a small park for toddlers and their families at 1125 Dewey in West Evanston, IL, was recently chosen in August to be the recipient of a Summer Whole Foods 5% Day. At day’s end, their project received nearly $3,500 from the gross receipts generated during the Whole Foods support. The plan to create a ‘tot lot,’ which is considered a ‘pocket park’ based on size and location, was conceptualized three years ago by Gay Riseborough and her friend Mary Trujillo who, after a walk through their West Evanston neighborhood, realized there was no play area for their grandchildren. Riseborough created a poster for their summer block party in Evanston to gauge neighborhood interest, and the group grew from there. The Grandmother Park Initiative partnered with Openlands, a nonprofit metropolitan conservation organization, who purchased the 32' x 166' property at 1125 Dewey and is holding the space for the group as they continue to raise money to purchase and develop the lot into a park. Prior to purchase by Openlands, the lot contained a burnt out home that had gone into foreclosure. The building has since been demolished and is now an open space awaiting its transformation into a safe place where families and children can meet and learn through play. To learn more about the Grandmother Park Initiative or to support their fundraising efforts, please visit http://www.grandmotherpark.org or call 847-475-5159.