The American River Parkway has been described as Sacramento's urban oasis and the region's jewel.  

The American River Parkway Foundation is a publicly supported 501 (c) (3) not for profit agency, which each year coordinates the efforts of hundreds of volunteers who contribute thousands of work hours to maintaining and improving the Parkway.  Listed below are some of their comments:

Outreach
"I can say that (outreach) is fun to do.  I did (tabling) for a couple of hours at our booth at Earth Day event this past Sunday and met a lot of folks who are excited about the Parkway.  You sure don't have to sell them on it....folks walk right up and sign the volunteer list."
Nicholas N. Ewing, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair Dept. of Biological Sciences California State University,  Sacramento

Adopt a Grove
I was part of a group of volunteers who watered an Oak Grove for community service hours.  I go to Winston Churchill, and I am in the IB Program.  At Churchill in the IB program, you are required to do a few hours of community service, 5 for 6th grade, 10 for 7th, and 15 for 8th.  I am no in eighth grade, and I did my work over the summer.  I had the choice of continuing my work at the Salmon Festival, which is a great festival because of all the volunteers, or work on the river.  I felt that I would get more from doing this, and so I decided to try it.  It was great to get my hours done.  The work was tough and repetitive, and the weather was pretty hot in jeans.  The star thistle bothered all of us, but I personally thought that the work was rewarding because there were quite a few people that thanked us and talked to us.  These thankful people were really what made me almost forget the thistle and the repetition.  It was good project for community service and I hope to see more groups out on the river this summer.
Gavin, Winston Churchill School

Volunteer Stewards
"Wow!! Christy Spoto and I finally got around to the mile condition report today and what a wonderful surprise ... we walked the bike trail, the equestrian trail, and a few trails down to the river and did not see any trash along the approx two and a half miles that we walked. We have been the stewards of this mile for --- years, and even though it is generally pretty clean, this is the first time that there has been absolutely nothing to remove!!
Katie Baygell
Equestrian Trail Patrol  Mile Steward 10N

Half Marathon
I wanted to let you know that I thought (Parkway Half Marathon) was a smash!  Well organized, well attended, good vendors, lots of volunteers, including some from the FTB BUG.  And, you couldn't ask for better racing weather. I thought it was perfect.
Regards, Marc Narlesky
Franchise Tax Board, Bicycle User Group (BUG)  Mile Steward 15N