Arlington Heights Park Foundation

Donation Form

Everyone can make a difference in assuring the quality of our parks. Small donations and gifts-in-kind demonstrate community pride and ownership of our outstanding park resources. Major gifts leverage government funding and leave a lasting legacy for future generations of park users.

Your gift gives you the satisfaction of supporting work to preserve and enhance our parkland, natural resources, and historic sites. Depending on the arrangements you choose, you can also:

• Reduce your income taxes
• Avoid capital gains tax
• Increase your disposable income
• Retain payments for life
• Achieve no-cost, worry-free asset management

Ways to contribute include:

The simplest way to contribute to the Arlington Heights parks is through cash gifts to the Park Foundation. Creative gifts of assets can also include stocks, bonds, real estate, and personal property. Various forms of bequests to the Park Foundation can be used that will give your estate a charitable deduction and guarantee that your legacy lives on in our community’s park system. Life-income gifts, such as gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, and pooled income funds, can provide you with an income stream, significant tax savings, and the satisfaction of supplying our parks with vital long-term resources.

You may consider using retirement plan benefits to make a significant gift to Arlington Heights parks through the Park Foundation. The cost of your gift to your estate and heirs is often relatively small. Two types of life insurance can be donated to the Arlington Heights Park Foundation for the benefit of our cherished parks: existing or paid-up whole and universal life insurance policies, and newly issued whole and universal life insurance policies.

Contact Amy Lewandowski at 847.506.7141 for more information. Tax deductible contributions may be mailed to: Arlington Heights Park Foundation
Attn: Amy Lewandowski
410 N. Arlington Heights Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL 60004

Honor and Remember Any Veteran

The real story presented by Memorial Park can be seen in the hundreds of commemorative bricks that honor the service and sacrifice of individual veterans. These veterans are from anywhere (not just Arlington Heights), from anytime (peace or war), and served in any of the six US military services (Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine).

The inscriptions on the individual bricks describe service and sacrifice spanning many generations: from World War One, World War Two, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Viet Nam War through all the modern day conflicts up to and including active duty personnel currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. These inscriptions contain the names of renowned military units, legendary ships and the historic battles that still influence our world today.

To honor the service and sacrifice of any veteran, simply download the Memorial Park Brochure and Brick Order Form and follow the directions on the form. Brick prices range from $100 to $500. Commemorative Bricks are ordered from the brick company twice a year.

Major Contributor

Rita Schofield (1924-2005) was a long-time resident of Arlington Heights who could be found every morning regardless of rain, snow, heat or cold, walking the path surrounding Pioneer Park. She volunteered much of her time within the Arlington Heights community, serving as an election judge, volunteering at Northwest Community Hospital and supporting other causes she held dear. Rita was a true pioneer with her “people first” attitude and was always ready to offer a helping hand to family, friends and strangers alike.

The Giving Tree at Pioneer Community Center

Pioneer Community Center features a donor Giving Tree. Donated by a local family in honor a loved one, the Giving Tree provides an opportunity for you to make a donation in your own name, pay tribute, commemorate a special event, or memorialize someone special; a family member, friend, or a loved one. Leaves of Gold, Silver and Bronze will be part of this enduring art as a lasting tribute. Join your family, friends and neighbors by making a contribution to promote art in the park. The Giving Tree greets guests entering the Pioneer Park Community Center.

Be a part of the parks and recreation community you love by making a donation to support the Giving Tree.

After more than a century of service to veterans and the community, Memorial Park was in need of renewal. So, in the Spring of 2007, a community group of dedicated veterans and other residents began working with the Arlington Heights Park Foundation and the Arlington Heights Park District An intensive with the purpose of redesigning and reconstructing Memorial Park. effort spanning nearly two years culminated in a new design that evolved Memorial Park into a living history of our nation, our community and the service and sacrifice of our veterans and their families.

At the heart of the new Memorial Park is a central plaza that educates and informs visitors about the service and sacrifice of veterans by displaying:

• the official seal of all six branches of the United States military in the order that they were chartered by Congress: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine
• a set of bronze markers listing the 15 military conflicts in which Arlington Heights veterans served – from the Civil War through the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan
• commemorative bricks for individual veterans with inscriptions detailing their military service.

This new design captured the hearts and minds of our community. Contributions for the reconstruction of Memorial Park came from many public and private sources including: residents; civic and veterans’ organizations; businesses; a grant from the Village of Arlington Heights and another from the office of State Senator Dan Kotowski (D-33); as well as dedication of funds from the Arlington Heights Park District.

The Eternal Flame is a beautiful bronze sculpture designed by noted artist Fran Volz. We feel that the Flame represents our community’s eternal remembrance of the service and sacrifice of veterans and their families. Standing 15′ tall, the Flame has been installed at the center of Memorial Park – surround by the veterans’ commemorative bricks. The Flame stands on a granite base with five sides. Eventually, each side will have an inscription. The first inscription reads “Because of our heroes and their families, freedom survives”. At night, the Flame has soft internal lighting that sends an inspiring message. Many have said that the Eternal Flame will be one of the most memorable images of Arlington Heights.