There are currently 150,000 United States soldiers serving in Iraq, which leaves 150,000 families back home in the U.S. without their husbands, wives, dads, moms, brothers and sisters. It seems daunting, but there is a way that every American can volunteer to support them, and it’s easy.
The GreenCare for Troops program is facilitated by national non-profit organization Project EverGreen and offers free lawn and landscape care for military families whose major breadwinner is serving in the Middle East. Developed in 2006, the program is working to help more than 4,500 military families with their lawn care needs.
“It’s not hard to mow someone’s lawn or help trim their shrubs,” says Den Gardner, executive director of Project EverGreen. “What a lot of people don’t think about is that many of these families become single-parent or single-income households— many with small children—when soldiers go overseas, and by doing something so simple you help these families more than you could ever imagine.”
GreenCare for Troops relies on professional and citizen volunteers to make the program possible. Gardner said in 2007 more than 1,000 volunteers supported military families in need and in 2008 the organization is hoping for even more.
Gardner says the basic mission of this program goes back to Project EverGreen’s commitment to education about the benefits of green spaces to the environment, the economy and to people’s personal lives.
“When you are worrying about the safety of a loved one there’s not much anyone can do to calm your fears,” he says. “But green spaces have been proven to increase happiness and serenity so we want to do anything we can to help maximize those benefits to these families.”
Support for GreenCare for Troops comes from many green industry firms. Cub Cadet provides significant and important underwriting for volunteer coordination and administration. Lawn Boy is accepting nominations at www.lawn-boy.com for a program to place new Lawn-Boy mowers into the yards of military families with loved ones serving in the Middle East.
To find out how qualified families can apply for free lawn and landscape care this summer go to www.projectevergreen.com and click on the GreenCare for Troops logo. Or, you can make a toll-free phone call to 877/758-4835 to have an application mailed.
“There is no cost or obligation to families who apply to participate in GreenCare for Troops,” Gardner says. “Project EverGreen will make every effort to link those who apply with local volunteers and landscape firms who have indicated a desire to help. However, since this is strictly a volunteer program, we cannot guarantee assistance to everyone who applies.”