Building Purpose Through Community Stewardship

While Jennifer Massing Harris is best known as a marketing strategist for technology innovators, she has also applied her enthusiasm and skills pro bono to grassroots projects that align with Massing PR’s core "Building Purpose" ethos.

Introduction: From Technology Strategist to Community Advocate

Between 2018 and 2021, while living in Austin, TX, Jen led community projects through her role as President of the Parque Zaragoza Neighborhood Association (PZNA) and as a founding member of the Amigos de Parque Zaragoza community group.

The Challenge: Reclaiming Purpose in a Segregated Community

Parque Zaragoza is a historic neighborhood park in East Austin, originally created in 1931 to serve the Mexican American community, a community formed as a direct result of Jim Crow segregation. For many decades, it was a vibrant gathering space and a center for activists and culture. However, as Austin's dramatic growth in the early 2000s accelerated gentrification and community displacement, the park entered a period of decay, suffering from neglect and a reputation for crime and vandalism.

The Strategy: "History Matters" to Secure the Future

Living close to the park and wanting to see it restored, Jen formed the PZNA in 2018, leveraging it as a unifying voice to engage with city-wide organizations. The core strategy centered on the theme: "This Place Matters." By highlighting the park’s deep historical significance and cultural legacy, Jen was able to:

Secure Grant Funding: Jen successfully led the effort to secure a $50,000 Fall Community Grant from the Austin City Limits Music Festival Park Grants program to install shade structures at the park’s historic pool. The grant success was immediately documented in local press, including the Austin Monitor and a news release.
Achieve Historic Recognition: A separate grant project resulted in the park being placed on the National Register of Historical Places as part of the Federal Underrepresented Communities Grants Program. This elevated the park's profile and reinforced its significance as a Lone Star Legacy Park.

Strategic Partnerships and Community Mobilization

The activities Jen led represented a direct alignment between her community work and corporate expertise:

Leveraging Stakeholders: Her work involved partnering with groups like the Austin Parks Foundation and the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department to secure grants and ensure projects met community needs.
Mobilizing Volunteers: Jen and the PZNA organized and promoted several community events, including three Austin Parks Foundation’s It's My Park Day (IMPD) events between 2018-2020.

Financial Leverage: The vital effort of Mobilizing 145 volunteers over two years contributed $11,643 in equivalent labor for Parque Zaragoza, demonstrating the high financial leverage of effective community advocacy.
She also produced the "East Austin One Warm Coat Drive," collecting more than 210 coats for local shelters and garnering widespread media coverage.
Digital Communications: Jen used social media, particularly Facebook, to gather community input and announce opportunities for involvement. This mobilization of the community reflects her expertise in modern PR and audience building.

Key Results and Strategic Validation

Strategic Pillar	Core Challenge/Action	Tangible Result/Validation
Defining Purpose	Reclaiming the park's 90-year historical and cultural legacy in the face of gentrification.	Achieved National Register of Historical Places status; validated This Place Matters theme.
Strategy & Execution	Developing a narrative to build political will and secure funding for structural and safety needs.	Secured $50,000 Community Grant for critical pool shade structures; multiple media placements.
Media & Advocacy	Using social impact initiatives to generate authentic media coverage.	*Sun Radio* (Coat Drive), *Austin Statesman* (Coat Drive), *Austin Monitor* (50K ACL Grant), *The Patch* (50K ACL Grant), *The Patch* (Amigos de Parque Zaragoza Unsung Heros), *Texas Recreation and Park Society Magazine* (Amigos de Parque Zarargoza Unsung Heros Award)
Exit Strategy / Sustainability	Ensuring the project's long-term health and transferring power back to the original community.	Successful launch and handover of the thriving Amigos de Parque Zaragoza group (still active today).
Community Mobilization	Building positive engagement to reverse the park’s reputation for neglect and crime.	Mobilized community for multiple "It's My Park Day" events; 210+ coats collected for local shelters.
Team Mobilization	Honoring PARD staff for essential worker childcare during COVID-19.	Award was covered in the *Texas Recreation and Park Society Magazine*, achieving high-authority industry placement.

The Sustainable Bridge to Validated Purpose

The most critical strategic imperative was ensuring the park's purpose would be both sustainable and authentic in a rapidly changing city.

As Austin's growth accelerated, long-term East Austin residents were fighting the City on multiple fronts to halt the gentrification that was eroding the neighborhood and demolishing familiar memory-filled spaces. Jen, like other newer residents drawn to East Austin, quickly recognized the profound local pain points regarding the City's history and the resulting displacement.

Recognizing the need for a bridge over this generational and cultural divide, Jen's focus shifted from just improving facilities to strategic reconciliation. The final act of stewardship was to ensure the park was rightfully returned to its original community while embracing the new one.

Jen connected with the original stewards—the multi-generational Mexican American families—and partnered with them and newer residents to launch the Amigos de Parque Zaragoza group in 2020. This initiative achieved the ultimate goal of validated purpose: it created an essential bridge of common purpose, welcoming all park stakeholders to work together.

Today, the Amigos de Parque Zaragoza group is thriving, and traditional park events like holidays and reunions consistently draw older families back to their beloved green space. The unity between new residents, park stakeholders, and older volunteers has brought the park back to its legendary self, demonstrating Massing PR's ability to drive authentic, long-term brand equity by resolving complex community and identity challenges.

**Volunteer labor was calculated based on the official *Independent Sector Value of Volunteer Time** for the state of Texas for the year 2019 ($26.79 per hour). The total is derived from 145 documented volunteers, assuming an industry-standard average of 3 hours per volunteer for park grounds work.

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