Grow Your Own: A Garden of Hope
Grow Your Own Project - $1,655
Spring is in the air! Everyone enjoys the taste of fresh vegetables straight from the garden. Leadership Fort Collins, Team All for One, is asking for your help to provide this healthy, tasty experience to some of our county's neediest individuals "“ residents with disabilities living in poverty conditions.
Disabled Resource Services (DRS) estimates Larimer County, Colorado, has approximately 10,000 residents with disabilities living in poverty. This organization provides services to around 6,000 residents each year, but does not have the staffing, financial resources, or volunteers to reach out to serve the rest. Their mission is to empower individuals with disabilities to achieve their maximum level of independence through services supporting advocacy, awareness, and access to their community. Their small staff strives to achieve their mission through case management and direct community assistance.
We will be using donations from this campaign for the construction and planting of two raised vegetable garden beds which will serve many purposes: to give curb appeal to their building's new location which will make the location more attractive and easily identifiable; to provide a meaningful, enriching and educational activity for their clients with disabilities by providing their own space for planting; to provide free produce for clients grown by clients; and to provide advocacy and awareness of an organization that provides very specialized services, referrals and direct assistance to residents with the most need.
We are currently asking local businesses for cash or in-kind donations. Your contributions will be used to purchase lumber, soil, plants, seeds, tools and all the other items needed to start and maintain the vegetable gardens. DRS clients will be actively engaged in maintaining the gardens. Through their involvement they will not only be improving their nutrition and health but will also take away new gardening skills and the joy of watching well-nurtured plants grow, thrive, and be harvested!
Volunteer assistance will be needed for the installation; email Gina Robinson at [email redacted] to reserve your volunteer space. Or join us on Saturday, May 4 from noon-2 p.m. to watch the excitement grow!
The Urban Farm Company will also be providing professional assistance to ensure the project is done well and will be sustainable. Check out more information about their work at www.urbanfarmcolorado.com .
