Ford Nature Center Renovation Receives $500,000 Donation

The Florence Simon Beecher & John D. Finnegan Foundations have combined to contribute $500,000 towards the $3 million renovation of the Ford Nature Center at Mill Creek MetroParks. The contribution will directly benefit the work needed to renovate the carriage house currently located on the property (840 Old Furnace Rd., Youngstown) of the Ford Nature Center. Once completed, the carriage house will serve as an education building, a central hub of all school based and group tours of the Ford Nature Center. The MetroParks Board of Park Commissioners have approved naming the structure, The Beecher Finnegan Education Building.

“Our grateful appreciation goes out to the Florence Simon Beecher & John D. Finnegan Foundations for their generous contribution to the new Education Building at the Ford Nature Center. This building will serve as the gateway to learning about the natural wonders of the world for thousands of local school children each year. Its impact on not only the Ford Nature Center but the entire MetroParks will be felt for generations to come,” says Chris Litton, Mill Creek MetroParks Director of Development.

The project has currently raised $1 million of the $3 million goal. The Sand Hill Foundation of Menlo Park, California has generously offered a challenge grant which will match new donations raised after November 1, 2018 up to $1 million.