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Minneapolis Parks Foundation > Common Ground > Donors & Volunteers > Thank You > Barbara Lupient and the Lupient Family make $100,000 gift for future NE Rec Center

Barbara Lupient and the Lupient Family make $100,000 gift for future NE Rec Center

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NEWS RELEASE

Minneapolis Parks Foundation announces $100,000 gift from the Lupient Family to the Future Northeast Athletic Field Recreation Center

Minneapolis, Minn. – On Wednesday, May 6, the Minneapolis Parks Foundation announced to the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board that Barbara Lupient and the Lupient Family have made a $100,000 contribution towards the construction of a new recreation center at Northeast Athletic Field Park. This generous Lupient Family gift is in addition to the Lupient Foundation’s 2003 $1 million multi-year pledge to support programming at the Jim Lupient Water Park. For the Parks Foundation, the gift is in-line with its commitment to bring visionary philanthropic investments to the Minneapolis park system.

The 37-acre Northeast Park was established in 1941 and serves a diverse community with the Jim Lupient Water Park, and athletic fields, basketball and tennis courts, and places for walking and picnicking. The park has been without a recreation center since 2009. In early 2014, the Minneapolis Park Board completed a Northeast Athletic Field Park Master Plan and is currently undergoing planning for the future recreation center. The Park Board has allocated $3.3 million to the project, and announced on May 4, 2015, that an additional $500,000 is needed to construct the recreation center to plan.

Jim Lupient grew up in Northeast Minneapolis and built one of Minnesota’s largest auto dealerships. The Jim Lupient Water Park was named for him in 2003 in recognition of the family’s $50,000 annual gift to the Minneapolis Park Board for the Lupient Summer Swim Program, which provides swimming lessons, water safety, and water exploration for economically disadvantaged Minneapolis youth. Mr. Lupient passed away in 2011.

“We can’t thank Barbara Lupient and the Lupient Family enough for their generous support of Northeast parks projects,” says Tom Evers, Executive Director of the Parks Foundation. “Their pride in the neighborhood where Mr. Lupient grew up and the family’s commitment to its long-term vitality is a model for philanthropic investment in our city’s parks. The impact will be felt in the lives of thousands of people who will benefit from the Northeast Recreation Center and Jim Lupient Water Park.”

The Minneapolis Parks Foundation was founded in 2004 to provide philanthropic support for the Minneapolis Parks System. The Minneapolis Parks Foundation is committed to creating and enhancing the next generation of parks serving Minneapolis. In 2015, the Parks Foundation has also made two $5,000 contributions to the Bethune Park wading pool and playground, as well as the construction of the Phillips Aquatic Center, through Minneapolis Swims.

About the Minneapolis Parks Foundation

The Minneapolis Parks Foundation, which partners with the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, is an independent 501c3 dedicated to community investment in the nation’s top park system. The Parks Foundation is working to ensure that the RiverFirst Initiative is brought to live, is leading the design and preliminary steps for the Water Works site at St. Anthony Falls and hosts the Next Generation of Parks Lecture Series. The Parks Foundation seeks to provide visionary and philanthropic support for the whole Minneapolis parks system with a special attention to under-resourced communities.

For more information or to support our work, please visit MplsParksFoundation.org.

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Major Funding for MPF is Provided By:
The McKnight Foundation | The Minneapolis Foundation | General Mills
George Family Foundation| Curtis L. Carlson Foundation

Featured image courtesy Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board

 

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