King County Parks to benefit from purchase of " Support Parks!" postage stamps

New stamps available just in time for holiday mailings

2005 Archived News

Imagine supporting your favorite parks every time you mail a holiday greeting card or send in your electric bill. Now you can with King County Parks' latest innovative business partnership.

Postage stamps depicting the King County Parks system' s unique settings and popular activities can now be purchased online, with a portion of the proceeds going to preserve and improve one of the nation' s best parks systems. Click on image for larger view.

King County Parks and the Northwest Parks Foundation were recently approved by Zazzle to be included in its "Community Giving Program," which will return 27 percent of net sales to parks maintenance and operations.

"Our parks offer some of the best open space and recreational opportunities in the nation, and the "Support Parks!" partnership with Zazzle is a great way to showcase what our park system has to offer," said Kevin Brown, director of King County Parks. " This year, your holiday greeting cards can be personalized with a beautiful park scene stamp that will also benefit our park system so that they can be enjoyed for generations to come."

The postage stamps depict the wide range of activities that can be pursued at King County' s parks, including walking and jogging, whitewater rafting, hiking and mountain biking. Stamps can be purchased by clicking on the " Support Parks!" stamp program icon on the King County Parks Web site, at www.metrokc.gov/parks/.

Zazzle provides a marketplace for buying and selling custom-printed goods on the Internet. Consumers can use the site to design a custom T-shirt, poster, print, or card. Zazzle' s personalized postage program has been approved by the U.S. Postal Service.

Brown said the partnership with Zazzle fits King County Parks' business plan for encouraging new partnerships and funding sources, and new ways to provide amenities throughout the park system.

King County Parks will generate roughly $4.7 million in business revenues this year, with approximately $1.2 million of that amount coming from partnerships, enterprise initiatives and donations, which are managed by King County Parks' 501C3 partner, the Northwest Parks Foundation.

King County manages 25,389 acres of parks, pools, open space, natural land and trails. This includes 68 baseball fields, 61 soccer fields, four pools, 88 picnic areas, 34 playgrounds, 27 tennis courts, 13 boat launch sites, more than 175 miles of trails, six fishing piers, four community gardens, a climbing rock, the area's best off leash dog park and the world class Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.