Portland councilors accepted over $125,000 in private donations for parks projects, including $85,000 to expand a skateboard park in Libbytown, $20,000 to begin a summer youth service program and $20,000 to expand a small boat launch at East End Beach.

Although the skatepark project received the largest donation, city staff and councilors were most enthusiastic about the $20,000 donation from the Portland Parks Conservancy to begin a Youth Corps, which aims to provide training and service opportunities to underserved youth through a summer work program in the city’s parks and open spaces.

“It’s really exciting to have a new initiative like this,” Mayor Kate Snyder said.

The program will be a partnership between the city’s Parks, Recreation and Facilities Department, the Portland Parks Conservancy and the Maine Audubon.

Ethan Hipple, director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities, said the program could give up to 24 young people their first work experience, giving them experience writing resumes, interviewing for the position and showing up to work on a daily basis. It also aims to introduce underserved youth the array of careers in parks, recreation, forestry and ecology. It will provide first-hand environmental education by field ecologists at the Maine Audubon, he said.

“I’m a product of a youth corps,” said Hipple, the driving force behind the project. “It shaped the direction of my life and I hope that happens to the kids who take part.”

Hipple said the program will be open to teens 14 to 17 years old during the summer. It will be divided into two sessions, with up to 12 youths participating in each session.

He said the first year of the program will be coordinated by an AmeriCorps volunteer and each participant will receive a stipend of $500 at the end of the session. He said city workers will staff the program, provide transportation, tools, uniforms and other support throughout the summer.

The program has a $50,000 budget, Hipple said, all of which will be funded by private donations from the Portland Parks Conservancy, a nonprofit formed in 2017 to raise money to improve city parks.

Anyone interested in the program should visit the city’s website, or email Hipple directly at ehipple@portlandmaine.gov.

City Councilor Pious Ali welcomed the additional youth programming, saying there’s an unmet need in the community.

“Being someone who does work with young people especially in the summer, it doesn’t matter how many programs you have in the city – there are always young people who are left behind,” Ali said. “This will go a long way to open up opportunities to young people in our city.”

Councilors also accepted $85,000 to expand the Dougherty Field skatepark.

The skatepark donations are part of a private fundraising challenge the city issued to skate park proponents in 2017, according to a memo to councilors.

The fundraising campaign was recently buoyed by two large donations: $50,000 from the Cabin Foundation and $35,000 from the Ollie Foundation, managed through the Maine Community Foundation, according the memo.

Once funded, the project would nearly double the Dougherty Field skatepark to more than 14,000 square feet. The current park is 8,000 square feet.

“This project will promote safe use of the park with more room for beginners, young children, and families who love to use the park,” the staff memo states. “It will also provide increased space and variety for a diverse range of teens and young adults engaged in healthy outdoor recreation.”

The expansion has been years in the making. City Manager Jon Jennings said his proposed capital improvement budget contains $50,000 toward the $350,000 project, which has received additional funding throughout the years. Jennings hopes the city can complete the project “within the next year.”

Councilors also accepted a $20,000 donation from the Friends of the Eastern Promenade for a series of improvements to expand small boat launching for canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards at the East End Beach.