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GreenCare for Troops

“You Move, We Mow” Challenge Benefits Military Families

You Move
Can you walk 18,000 steps June 23-29 for Greencare for Troops? The You Move, We Mow challenge helps provide free lawn services to military families.

Spatola Appointed to Project EverGreen’s Board

Spatola Project EverGreen
Arborjet | Ecologel has shared that Sarah Spatola, Director of Product Marketing, has recently been appointed as a new board member for Project EverGreen. The organization is dedicated to preserving and revitalizing green spaces. Their dedicated mission is designed to “bring people together to make a difference in how our yards, parks and communities create a greener, healthier, cooler Earth.” Spatola is also a Committee Member for Project EverGreen’s GreenCare for Troops (GCFT) Program. Through GCFT, military personnel can request lawn and landscaping services during their period of deployment. Last year, the program engaged 2,000 active volunteers, who helped more than 1,000 military families maintain their home lawns. Since its inception, 12,000+ military families and 7,000 contractors have registered for the program. They have donated more than $15 million towards in-kind services. This year marks the the sixth consecutive year that Arborjet | Ecologel will be an official Silver sponsor of GCFT. A sponsorship initiative that Spatola spearheaded after Arborjet and Ecologel partnered in 2018. Arborjet | Ecologel also provides free Hydretain products to help maintain the lawns and landscapes of deployed military personnel. Ecologel’s flagship product, Hydretain® is a revolutionary soil moisture management technology. It is designed to significantly reduce watering requirements of turfgrasses, trees, shrubs, flowers, container plants, and agriculture by as much as 50%. GCFT volunteers can sign up for free Hydretain products once they are matched with a military family. For the full list of recent Project EverGreen 2024 appointees, as covered by Turf Magazine, click ...

Project Evergreen: Ball Field Renovation & 2024 Appointments

Project EverGreen 2024
Project Evergreen renovates ball field and announces 2024 Officers & Board, headed by Scott Bills and Beth Berry.

NALP Endorses Project EverGreen’s GreenCare For Troops

NALP GreenCare for Troops
The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) has endorsed the nationally recognized GreenCare for Troops program. GreenCare for Troops (GCFT) provides complimentary basic lawn care and landscape maintenance services to military personnel with a deployed family member. It is managed by Project EverGreen, a 501c3 non-profit, celebrating its 15th year in 2021. NALP’s endorsement expands the program to its 2,800 member companies, representing 200,000 landscape and lawn care professionals, and opens the door for more volunteers to provide services and bring healthy lawns and landscapes to military families in their time of need.   Since the program’s inception, more than 7,500 lawn and landscape professionals nationwide have provided free services such as mowing, shrub pruning, fertilization, weed control, fire ant services and other related services to deserving military families. To date, the value of the donated services exceeds $10 million. “Our industry has a strong history of volunteer service and Project EverGreen, and GreenCare for Troops are great examples of the way that landscape and lawn care professionals make important contributions to their communities – one property at a time,” said Britt Wood, NALP CEO. “The focus on military families is a great compliment to the volunteer projects we do each year during Renewal & Remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery.” GCFT volunteers provide more than lawn care and landscape maintenance, they provide peace of mind during a stressful time; a safe place for kids to play and families to connect; and a cooler backyard to escape the heat of the ...

Going Above And Beyond The Call Of Duty For Military Families

GreenCare for Troops
Military families face many challenges when a loved one is deployed. Project EverGreen’s GreenCare for Troops was founded to ease the burden on the families of deployed military personnel by providing complimentary lawn and landscape services during the length of deployment. The nationwide program recognizes June 20-26, 2021, as National GreenCare for Troops Awareness Week, and issues a call for volunteers to register to help meet the growing number of military families requesting services. It also hopes to raise awareness with military families, and encourages eligible personnel to register to receive services. GreenCare for Troops marks its 15th year in 2021 and has provided an estimated $10 million in donated lawn and landscape services and peace of mind to thousands of military families in need across the country. “GreenCare for Troops is more than a program that checks a box and takes care of a necessary service, it has become a transformative experience for both volunteers and recipients,” said Cindy Code, executive director of Project EverGreen. “Not only do our volunteers provide a valued service that relieves a burden for military families, but they are also sustaining a healthy, safe lawn and yard for kids to play and families to unwind in at the end of a stressful day.”   Here’s a glimpse of why GreenCare for Troops is so important to military families: “Thank you for caring for the troops and their families. There are no words to say how much of a weight is lifted off our shoulders ...

Project EverGreen & CGKA Makeover Yards For Three Military Families

Project EverGreen
Members of the Connecticut Grounds Keepers Association (CGKA) and Project EverGreen’s GreenCare for Troops initiative joined forces in early August to perform a makeover of three yards belonging to families who currently have a member deployed with a branch of the U.S. military. The makeover included tree trimming/pruning, shrub trimming, bed edging and clean up, weeding, mulching, mowing and trimming. In addition to the makeovers, each family will continue to receive lawn and landscape services for the balance of each deployment at no cost from a GreenCare for Troops volunteer. Participating companies included Brookside Garden Center; Iovanna Property Maintenance LLC; TJB-Inc Landscape & Drainage Contractors; CB Property Maintenance; and Costello Landscaping. Kosilla Landscaping; KH Industries; and Costello Landscaping have committed to maintaining the properties for the balance of the deployments. “I love being outdoors and taking care of my yard and had many plans for it before I found out I was being deployed,” comments Jared*, one of the service members whose family received lawn care. He says one of his first thoughts was, ‘Who will take care of all the stuff I do around the house?’ “When I was told there were people willing to come to my house while I was away and help with the yard it filled me with so much joy, I cried a little,’ says Jared. “The work Project EverGreen and the CGKA did has given me a chance to relax about some of the things that I cannot control when I am not ...

GIE+EXPO Report: PERC Donates $5,000 To GreenCare For Troops

PERC
At the GIE+EXPO last week, The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) announced the results of its in-booth trailer giveaway sweepstakes. After tallying number of entries, PERC donated $5,000 to Project EverGreen’s GreenCare for Troops program. (For each contractor who entered the sweepstakes, PERC donated $5 to the GreenCare for Troops program.) PERC also presented the winner, Jim Langendorf of Springboro, OH-based Olympic Lawns, with a 16-foot Big Tex Trailer. Langendorf also took home an Exmark Lazer S-Series propane mower, a Spartan RTHD 61” propane mower, a Stihl cordless blower and cordless trimmer, a water cooler, and 25 safety vests and pairs of work gloves. GreenCare for Troops connects families of active-duty deployed service members with professional lawn, landscape, and snow removal volunteers in all 50 states. Volunteers provide free services to eligible families in their area for the length of their deployment, typically nine to 12 months. “PERC is proud to support GreenCare for Troops, an organization that assists American service members and their families during deployment.” said Jeremy Wishart, PERC director of off-road business development. “We were excited to see how many lawn and landscape industry professionals participated in growing our donation to GreenCare for Troops. To reflect that spirit, we are rounding up PERC’s total donation to $5,000.” Additional donations to Project EverGreen can also be made online at ProjectEverGreen.org/Donate. For more information on using propane for landscaping, visit Propane.com/For-My-Business/Landscape-and-Turf-Management.

PERC Giveaway At GIE+EXPO Benefits GreenCare For Troops

Greencare for Troops
Landscapers who visit the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) Booth #7094 at GIE+EXPO and enter to win the council’s equipment trailer giveaway will have $5 donated on their behalf to Project EverGreen’s GreenCare for Troops program. GreenCare for Troops, located at Booth #584, connects families of active-duty deployed service members with professional lawn, landscape, and snow removal volunteers in all 50 states. Volunteers provide free services to eligible families in their area for the length of the deployment; typically nine to 12 months. To enter the trailer giveaway and grow PERC’s donation to GreenCare for Troops, landscapers can sign up for The Cut enewsletter in PERC’s booth anytime during the expo hours, or may sign up online in advance of the show. To be eligible to win, contractors must be present in the booth at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 17, when the drawing takes place. In addition to the trailer itself, a 16-foot Big Tex Trailer, the winning contractor will take home the following tools and accessories: • An Exmark Lazer S-Series propane mower. • A Spartan RTHD 61” propane mower with a 896cc Vanguard engine. • A Stihl cordless blower. • A Stihl cordless trimmer. • A water cooler. • 25 safety vests. • 25 pairs of work gloves. “Propane is an all-American fuel, with the majority of the U.S.’s supply produced on American soil, and with much of the propane industry made up of family-run, small businesses for whom supporting service members and veterans is important,” ...