Zona Rosa's 10th year of Change for Charity

Zona Rosa is celebrating its 10th year which also means it is celebrating its 10th year of its Change for Charity community giving program. Throughout the past decade, Zona Rosa has raised more than $1 million for 180 charities through Greater Kansas City. And, for the first time this year, Zona Rosa has selected twelve local non-profit organizations that will benefit from its Change for Charity program, twice as many as in past years. The program grants Kansas City area charities the proceeds from funds collected by Zona Rosa’s parking meters. In the past 10 years, no charity has ever been repeated in the Change for Charity program."We're especially proud of our Change for Charity program at Zona Rosa," said Rosemary Salerno, general manager of Zona Rosa. "This simple collection of quarters and dimes from customers who enjoy the convenience of a well-located parking space has made an incredible impact on so many different charities throughout this community. Also, we enforce the on-street, paid parking spaces by issuing a $5 ticket to those who are in violation. All of the revenue from these tickets goes directly to designated charities each month. And now with the change that we've made this year we're able to help twice the number of non-profits." Change for Charity pays for various charitable events as well as the Zona Rosa scholarship program with Park Hill High School, Platte County R-3 School District and the North Kansas City School District. The charities receiving monthly proceeds from the Change for Charity program in 2014 are: January: The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City; February: Youth with Vision – Tri County Mental Health; March: Gilda’s Club Kansas City; April: Ella’s Hope for Autism; May: Carolyn’s Pennies for Ovarian Cancer; June: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City; July: Northland Therapeutic Riding Center; August: Angel Paws, Inc.; September: Arts KC – Regional Arts Council; October: River Read, Watson Center for Literacy: November: Girls on the Run of Greater Kansas City; December: Charlie’s House A selection review committee evaluated applications from a variety of local charities before selecting this year’s recipients. Charities were chosen based on community involvement and breadth of reach. Zona Rosa offers on-street parking as well as off-street parking facilities. The on-street parking is managed through a parking meter system, while garage and lot parking is free. All metered parking at Zona Rosa is located along the interior streets of the development adjacent to the stores and limited to one hour. It is intended for quick shopping trips. Free parking in the surface lots and parking garages is unlimited and encouraged for longer visits. To apply for next year, local non-profits should check the Zona Rosa website for the application process in May 2015.