10 Years of NYRR’s Day of Service
For many years, New York Road Runners has offered staff a paid day off each year to volunteer for a community service opportunity of their choice. Ten years ago, we added another rewarding initiative: Day of Service, to give back to community parks in New York City.
Giving back to our community is at the core of what we do! Every year, we seek opportunities for our staff to come together to deepen our impact and strengthen our communities. Not only is NYRR’s Day of Service a way to create further impact in our communities, it also makes for an inspiring workplace through team building. In fact, Day of Service was so popular the first year, it eventually replaced our annual Team Building Day.
Since New York Road Runners has a large presence in Central Park, we wanted to focus on volunteering in the outer boroughs, especially as we launched the NYRR Open Run program in neighborhood parks throughout NYC. We initially focused our efforts on Ocean Breeze Park on Staten Island. The nearby Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex had just opened, and we helped to beautify the park by painting railings, weeding and raking, and doing general cleaning. Since then, we've branched out to several parks. Here is a list of some of the parks where we've volunteered:
Ocean Breeze Park, Staten Island
Marine Park, Brooklyn
Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx
St. Mary’s Park, Bronx
Thomas Jefferson Park, Manhattan
Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Morningside Park, Manhattan
Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan
We have continued to work closely with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and the City Parks Foundation to coordinate Day of Service each year. This work also aligns with NYRR’s Sustainability initiatives to ensure future generations have access to clean air, green spaces, and a healthy world in which to be active.
We look forward to many more years of NYRR’s Day of Service in NYC! Check out photos of our volunteer work throughout the years.
2017
2018
2019
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
