On the first anniversary of Fakulteta's first children's playground, we look back at why and how it all came to be. A year ago, on the day Charlene's Garden opened its gates for the first time, we sat down with the man whose generosity set it all in motion.
Gary MacDougal, Honorary Co-Chair of the Bulgarian-American Enterprise Fund and the America for Bulgaria Foundation, spoke to us on that celebratory April day in Fakulteta — a neighborhood that, until then, had never had a children's playground.
In this conversation, recorded amid the laughter and excitement of the opening ceremony, he shares the story behind the donation made in memory of his wife Charlene, and makes a heartfelt case for why giving back should matter to all of us.