Colonial Park Transformation
Jessica Wimbley, City of Sacramento, Creative Corp 2023-2024
Department of Youth, Parks, and Community Enrichment, Clean CA, Sac State, Colonial Heights Neighborhood Association
Colonial Park is a 2.17-acre park located at 5315 19th Avenue in Sacramento, California's Colonial Heights Neighborhood.
CARE Girl Redesign
Colonial Heights Neighborhood Association
The Colonial Heights Neighborhood Association (CHNA) was formed in 2010 as a follow-up to the Colonial Arts and Recreation Effort (CARE), which was led for many years by Shirley Johnson and other dedicated neighbors.
In 1981, Shirley Johnson, a resident of Colonial Heights, founded an active neighborhood association called the Colonial Heights Arts and Recreation Effort (CARE), which she led for over 20 years. The focus of CARE was the safety and security of the neighborhood centered around the park and activities for children and teenagers. This organization ran an after-school program and a softball league and made many improvements to Colonial Park, including the wading pool and the shade structure. The organization dissolved due to many reasons, the primary of which was Johnson’s failing health.
The CARE Girl is an important feature to the park. Highlighting the CARE program and community engagement of the Colonial Heights Community, the CARE Girl is painted by children in the neighborhood.
Image Credit: CLEAN CA Event, Colonial Park, Sacramento, CA. Children painting New CARE Girl Design with artist.
National Night Out Community Engagement:
Vote for your Favorite CARE Girl Design
The community was presented with three new designs of the CARE Girl as coloring pages. Community members voted by choosing their favorite CARE Girl coloring page and coloring the page. Children and adults from the community participated in the voting.
CARE Girl Painting: Clean California Park Transformation
The new CARE Girl design was painted by the children of community during the Clean California Colonial Park Transformation Event, keeping with the neighborhood tradition of the CARE Girl being painted by children from the Colonial Heights community started by Shirley Johnson.