2.24.2023 What is a Perennial Partner?
| Perennial Partners When we think of perennial plants we often think of plants that keep giving; plants with recurrent growth rather than annuals who give beautifully once. Both types of plants are wonderful for the ways they serve our growing spaces. We know planting perennials is an investment in the future of our landscapes and gardens. We have a group of supporters who like our perennial plants give to our programming with recurring donations. Many of these Perennial Partners chose to give monthly as a way to budget their yearly giving. There are also those who chose to give quarterly or yearly. All of these gifts strength our budget and give us a higher level of financial security. “I choose to give monthly because I can fit this recurring donation into my budget easier than donating a single large amount. It was easy to get my recurring donation set up on the GROW website so that an automatic deduction is made from my checking account each month. I was able to choose the amount that worked for my budget while knowing I’m supporting a great local non-profit!” – Lindsey Rushford, GROW board member. You are invited to consider becoming a Perennial Partner. You can easily support the youth we serve by following this link, set the amount you would like to give then chose the frequency of your gift. You can set the donation to automatically charge to your credit card or debit from your bank account. These settings can be changed anytime you chose. |
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| So Much In Store There are so many great plans you won’t want to miss out on this year. Follow GROW on Facebook and Instagram and read our e-newsletter for regular updates. Here is a glimpse of the plans in store for you: • School Garden Lessons 2023 Theme: “Healthy Minds, Bodies and Soil” Three spring and three fall garden lessons will be taught to each class at 10 area schools this year; that’s over 3000 students! • Summer Garden Volunteer Opportunities: Go to our website to sign up to help with your school garden. • Spring Plant Sale: May, 5th, 6th & 7th Get ready to grow your own garden while supporting garden education. • Kids Cooking Challenge Skill Builder Series: Watch for updates on the new and improved, already very popular Kids Cooking Challenge events. • Summer Open Gardens: Join us at a different school garden each week in June and July for a guided activity, time to explore and harvest. • The Great GROW Get Together: August 24th at the Myrick Park Center we will celebrate garden education and enjoy games, music, and food prepared by local chefs using winning Kids Cooking Challenge recipes! |
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| Grateful for Community Partners There are so many organizations and businesses in our community who value working together. We are always grateful to be part of partnerships that help promote and enable good work. This week we were lucky enough to have a field trip that benefited from three of our partners contributions. We want to share our thanks for these partners. Western Technical College shares the Horticulture Education Center with us to bring in students to learn about where their food comes from, even on the coldest and snowiest Wisconsin days. They also generously lead student tours that highlight the many unique sustainability initiatives and educational opportunities on campus. Hilltopper Refuse and Recycling provides us with recycled cans and compost so that each student can pot and take home their own plant while learning about how we propagate in the greenhouse. University of Wisconsin Extension – Food WIse educators joined us for a plants part and taste test lesson that is integrated into our field trip experiences for schools qualified for their programming. |
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| Intern Spotlight We couldn’t do what we do without our interns! This spring semester we are grateful to have Ethan Gregg on the GROW team. You may have seen him on the news recently for breaking a UWL track team record at the first indoor meet of the season. Learn more about him below. Hometown: City of La Crosse, Wisconsin School: University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Major: Sociology Minor: Nutrition Why GROW: I value the mission of GROW to promote healthy living and sustainability. One Goal as an intern: learn and absorb as much knowledge on the job as possible! Favorite Fruit/Vegetable: Any type of Fruit! Love them all! |
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