Charity blooms

Gerald Subaru of North Aurora is once again sponsoring our 'Fund the Farm' fundraiser for 2025! This year, we are trying to raise $5000 for supplies to host educational classes for kids, add electrical upgrades for the greenhouse and install educational tables that will enhance learning opportunities at the farm. The first 10 people to donate $100 or more will receive 2 tickets to a special Thank You brunch to be held on May 18th at the Farm. Chef Connor will be preparing seasonal foods with farm fresh ingredients.

'FUND THE FARM' FUNDRAISING EVENT 2025

Charity Blooms is a 501c3 nonprofit community garden management company located in Aurora, IL. We work with hundreds of volunteers every year to grow fresh vegetables for the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry. We currently grow about 4000-5000 pounds of fresh vegetables, without the use of chemicals, every year.

We are excited to announce that the amazing folks at Gerald Subaru of North Aurora are sponsoring our Fund the Farm fundraiser once again! The fundraising event will go for the entire month of February.

Our theme for 2025 is to Invest in our Youth. We are planning multiple outreach opportunities to teach our local youth about healthy eating and growing your own food. We will be offering free classes and activities throughout the summer. These classes will be available to anyone who would like to join us. We will also be adding 3 new educational picnic tables featuring activities for all ages. Each seat will have a unique activity such as a maze, word search or math problem with a farming theme. This will increase the overall impact we have with our visitors while they visit with us.

Lastly, we would like to take a big step to bring ComEd electric to our property. We have been operating without electrical service for 7 years. We would like to be able to create a climate-controlled greenhouse to extend our growing season and power our aquaponics. The greenhouse is an under-utilized educational space with great potential. This necessary improvement will also increase our overall harvest and ease the physical burden on our volunteers while doing basic chores.

You can make a difference by donating today to Charity blooms. Please visit our website at charityblooms.org

Charity Blooms would like to ask for your help to raise money to 'Fund the Farm' for 2024. What started in 2017 as a hobby has grown so big that we are now asking for your help to grow even bigger! Our current resources have been used to their full potential. In order to become more efficient and produce more vegetables for our community, we need to invest in our infrastructure. Please help us to grow more food for those who need it most!

In our first year, 4 of us struggled to grow 600 pounds of vegetables. It was quite a lesson in determination. Seven years later, with the help of hundreds of volunteers annually, we now grow over 100 different herbs and vegetables. Many of which our visitors have never seen or tasted. In total, we have donated almost 21,000 pounds (about the weight of a school bus) of vegetables to the people in our community that need it most.

Our network and impact have grown exponentially. This is no longer just a hobby for us. We have people that depend on our contributions. We have become an integral part of our community. People come to us from all over to learn and grow with us. In addition to providing tons of fresh food, we host educational programs about pollinators, butterflies, chickens, hydroponics, solar power and general growing techniques. We also work with professional chefs to teach free classes on how to use the amazing herbs and vegetables that we grow.

We would like to increase our impact and provide even more for our community. We have been struggling for years with minimal resources. For example, our property is totally off the grid. We don't have pressurized water or traditional power. Most of our tools are purchased at local garage sales and thrift stores. We have a small greenhouse with broken doors and missing roof vents. Our soil is severely nutrient deprived.

What we do have is a volunteer base with a passion for gardening and the determination to provide our community the best possible food we can grow. We have proven we are here to stay and are prepared to work hard to provide for you. Please help us grow.

Thank you for your consideration!

Robert (Rob) Vaughan

President

Charity Blooms, LLC

www.charityblooms.org