At U-Haul, our team members live in the communities they serve. We hire locally because we want our employees to have a personal investment and share our corporate commitment to growth in their communities. Our team never forgets that our quality self-move, self-storage services and products are to improve human lives. U-Haul appreciates its obligation to the communities in which we do business, and for many years we have focused on the endorsement of social programs by partnering with organizations and events that directly serve the most basic of human needs.

Since 2007, The Conservation Fund’s partnership with U-Haul has expanded our opportunity to improve more human lives through corporate and customer contributions.  Remarkable support from more than one million U-Haul customers to date has demonstrated that corporations can successfully engage customers to connect with communities and improve lives. Our partnership with The Conservation Fund supports tree planting, park building and green economic prospects. That support also demonstrates a clear confidence in the stewardship by The Conservation Fund of our customers’ hard-earned dollars.

The Fund’s Parks with Purpose program aligns with our goals to connect to and give back to the communities where we live, work and play. Just as U-Haul is woven into the infrastructure of our nation’s transportation network, convenient access to parks and gardens should be available to everyone. U-Haul is so proud of our customers and their continued support that has led to the creation of Lindsay Street Park in Atlanta, Georgia. The park itself, coupled with the restoration and workforce training program, will bring long-term environmental, social and economic benefits to the English Avenue community.

I visited Atlanta in June to survey the newly begun Lindsay Street Park. Construction had begun in April but was slow moving due to heavy rains. As we turned onto Oliver Street and approached the site, I witnessed a perfect example of the quick and powerful rains that affect this community. It was almost as though the downpour was scheduled into my tour! We waited out the storm at a restaurant down the street where I was honored to meet the local workforce building the park. Some common themes kept coming up during our conversations; a first job opportunity, potential for future employment, commitment to their community and pride in work well done.  After lunch the young men eagerly went back to work and I got an up-close view of the park plans and the obvious need for green space in this underserved community.  

Envisioning the eventual park layout during our site tour in June. Photo by Whitney Flanagan/The Conservation Fund.

Greening Youth Foundation members worked hard on the construction of Lindsay Street Park. Photo by Whitney Flanagan/The Conservation Fund.

Fast forward to October and this little piece of land has found its purpose. Through the collaboration and support of many corporate and community groups and the diligence and hard work of that local workforce team, Lindsay Street Park now provides a clean, safe place for the community to come together, right in their own backyard. The park features playground equipment, park benches, and an improved green infrastructure that will help absorb storm water. It is surrounded by new landscape and mature trees and homes filled with people eager to enjoy it. It will help improve the health of the community and the quality of life for its residents.

Local children enjoying the playground during Lindsay Street Park’s official opening on October 21, 2015. Photo by Whitney Flanagan/The Conservation Fund.

The opening of Lindsay Street Park on October 21, 2015 was attended by community neighbors, local government officials and private/public partners—all who helped bring this park to its realization.  Best of all, the park was full of children playing on the equipment and neighbors resting and conversing on the park benches. An overall feeling of pride and hope for the future of the English Avenue community was apparent. I look forward to visiting this park again, to visiting Atlanta and the English Avenue community.  I especially look forward to a continued partnership between U-Haul and The Conservation Fund improving human lives through many more Parks with Purpose projects.

The Conservation Fund’s Shannon Lee greeting local children at the Lindsay Street Park opening ceremony. Read Shannon's blog post about the park opening here. Photo by Whitney Flanagan/The Conservation Fund.

U-Haul is proud of our customers, our team members, The Conservation Fund, and all the community members and organizations that strive to have a direct effect on improving and growing a better world for future generations.