Greensboro, N.C. – Project EverGreen, now in its third year in North Carolina, has announced that Mayor Anthony Foxx of Charlotte has recently joined Mayor Bill Bell of Durham, Mayor Robbie Perkins of Greensboro, Mayor Nancy McFarlane of Raleigh, and Mayor Allen Joines of Winston-Salem in officially proclaiming June 2012 “Project EverGreen Month” in their respective cities. Project EverGreen is a non-profit, educational alliance of professional lawn and landscape contractors, associations, green industry supplier partner companies and homeowner volunteers, dedicated to educating the public about the benefits and value of healthy, well-maintained yards, parks and athletic fields across North Carolina and nationwide.
The mayoral proclamations mark the official 2012 start of Project EverGreen’s ongoing green industry advocacy efforts in North Carolina, which include donating pro bono professional landscaping renovations and lawn care services to needy recipients to improve and enhance green spaces in local communities, through three key initiatives:
1. GreenCare for Troops – Project EverGreen sponsors and manages GreenCare for Troops in North Carolina as part of its nationwide outreach program pairing needy military families state-wide with family members currently serving overseas with local landscape contractor volunteers to provide free lawn care and landscaping services. Since its inception, the program has connected more than 4,000 professional contractor volunteers donating free lawn care services to support over 11,000 military families with spouses serving overseas.
In May, GreenCare for Troops in NC teamed with Ideal Landscaping and Irrigation in Greensboro and Nature’s Select Premium Turf Services in Winston-Salem to donate landscaping and patio installations to a military family in Harmony, NC. GreenCare for troops has also connected Triangle and Ft. Bragg area military families needing pro bono lawn care with Turftenders Landscape Services in Raleigh, who have donated free lawn care to approximately 20 military families since 2010. AA-Tex Lawn Company in Matthews also donates free lawn care to Charlotte area military families, as does Southern Lawn Care, in Shelby, NC.
This year, GreenCare for Troops was recently honored on the south lawn at the White House by first lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, at a ceremony celebrating organizations and programs that benefit military families. The event was part of the White House’s Joining Forces initiative. Led by Michelle Obama, the program recognized 20 organizations and communities dedicated to supporting military families throughout the country in various ways. GreenCare for Troops is funded by Cub Cadet Commercial.
2. GreenCare for Communities – Project EverGreen coordinates with its NC network of professional contractors and NC-based, green industry company partners, jointly volunteering their employees and services to renovate urban green areas, collaborating with local United Way organizations to identify needy charity partner agencies.
To date, GreenCare for Communities in the Triad has coordinated donations with Nature’s Select Premium Turf Services in Winston-Salem, Greensboro Parks & Rec, and Syngenta Lawn & Garden employees, to provide pro bono landscaping renovations to Greensboro’s Green Hill Cemetery, a 120 year-old historic landmark, and to the Penn-Griffin Magnet Arts School in High Point, part of a National Historic District.
In the Triangle area, Project EverGreen teamed with Cary-based Arysta LifeScience North America employees, United Way of the Greater Triangle and Raleigh Parks & Rec to renovate the outdoor meeting area at Haven House Youth Services Center in Raleigh, and with Arysta LifeScience and ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance in Durham, to jointly donate volunteers and services to enhance the grounds at Life Experiences in Cary, another United Way partner agency, providing fulfilling employment for adults with developmental disabilities.
For fall, 2012, Project EverGreen is partnering with AA-Tex Lawn Company to plan and install a landscaping donation for the Charlotte Girl Scouts, Hornet’s Nest Council’s Oak Springs camp grounds and similar landscaping renovations with Arysta LifeScience in Cary, Syngenta Lawn & Garden in Greensboro and additional donations with other contractor volunteers and corporate partner participants in the Triangle area.
3. The Art of GreenSpaces Contest: – In 2011 and 2012, Project EverGreen has managed the Art of Green Spaces Contest in collaboration with the arts education curriculum administrator for the Raleigh/Wake County Public Schools and this year added Greensboro/Guilford County Schools. The contest’s goal is open to arts ed teachers and students in all grades, encouraging students to create visual arts, creative writing, music, and dance and drama video entries, expressing the importance of healthy yards, landscapes and recreational areas to their communities and to their quality of life. Winning entries are acknowledged publicly and earn cash awards donated directly to their participating schools, earmarked to support future arts education programs.
Over the last two years, Project EverGreen’s Art of Green Spaces Contest has donated nearly $5,000 directly to participating Guilford and Wake County North Carolina public schools. For more information about The NC Art of Green Spaces Contest, visit: www.projectevergreen/nc/aogs.
