Dear Football Parents and Community Supporters
As valued members of our football community, we are reaching out to you with an urgent request for your support. Our beloved Grant Bowl has been condemned by the city which is going to deprive our students of a vital space for sports and community connection. By not allowing Grant athletes to use the field at all, a larger group of teams than in the past will require that student athletes miss class to be bussed to other fields to practice and play games - which will negatively impact our students, our entire community and the environment.
We believe that together, as a united force, we can make a difference and ensure that our students continue to have access to the field. To achieve this, Friends of Grant Football is asking for your help in two crucial ways:
Complete this survey from the newly-formed Grant Bowl Community Coalition. The goal of sharing this survey is to explore ways to expedite immediate repairs after a "critical safety test failure" that includes advocating for the transfer of ownership + operations of the Grant Bowl to PPS.
Email the following public leader: Commissioner Ryan, Parks Director Long and our city council demanding that they do better for our students and community. To demonstrate the depth of our support, we urge you to send an e-mail to the City of Portland expressing your concerns about condemning the field and the impact it will have on students. A template email has been prepared to make this process easier for you (here). Feel free to personalize the email with your own thoughts and experiences.
Time is of the essence, as city officials are currently deliberating on this issue. We encourage you to take action as soon as possible and share this message with fellow parents, friends, and community members who share our commitment to preserving this valuable resource for our students.
Let’s show the city the strength of this football community and rally together to protect the field our students deserve to have access to. Please e-mail admin@friendsofgrantfootball.com if you have any questions. If you are looking for regular updates on this situation, join the Grant Bowl Community Coalition FaceBook group to be kept up to date on what's happening.
Thank you for standing with us.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Antipov
Friends of Grant Football President