Around the holidays, many cities run goodwill-based parking programs like food, toys, or monetary donations to contribute to local nonprofits in lieu of paying parking fines, and they always catch my attention. There are many examples out there, like LEXPARK's Connect for Community, Tuscaloosa, AL accepts toy donations to pay for citations, Grafton, WI Food for Fines, and many others. While the holidays naturally inspire generosity and are traditionally the time of year to spread goodwill, it made me wonder: what opportunities are out there to expand these kinds of efforts throughout the year, tied to meaningful awareness months or causes?
Could programs like this help highlight issues facing historically marginalized communities, or create new avenues of support for the organizations that serve them? For those who work for municipalities, aside from the temporary diversion of revenue and the obviously hard work to get these programs off the ground, what other challenges do you see in extending goodwill-based initiatives beyond the holiday season? And has anyone seen examples of these efforts happening year-round?
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Julia Scholl
Marketing Manager
Park Loyalty, Inc.
Baraboo WI
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