St. Mary’s is Vying to Win One of Several $20,000 Grants from the Certified Organic Seed and Food Company – vote today at www.seedsofchangegrant.com
St. Mary’s Hospital for Children—New York’s largest provider of long-term care for children with severe medical issues has entered the Seeds of Change® Grant Program for an opportunity to win one of two $20,000, five $10,000 grants or ten $1,000 grants and is asking the community to get out and vote for its application. If awarded, the grant will be used to enhance St. Mary’s Community Garden— a fully accessible garden to be used by the young patients at St. Mary’s Hospital for Children, located in Bayside. St. Mary’s Community Garden expands on the current Farm-to-Table program, which promotes nutrition education through hands-on gardening and interactive cooking classes for the young patients.
The Seeds of Change® Grant Program aims to develop the environmental, economic and social well-being of gardens, farms and communities across the nation. In March, the program accepted hundreds of applications from organizations and schools across the country. From April 9 through to April 27, the community can get out the vote and support St. Mary’s by visiting the Seeds of Change® Facebook page at www.facebook.com/seedsofchange or their website at www.seedsofchangegrant.com and voting once per day. After voting closes on April 27, the top 50 organizations with the most votes will move on to the final judging phase.
St. Mary’s budding Community Garden, an expansion of the Farm to Table program, will provide an engaging, fun and strategic way to get St. Mary’s Kids excited about nutritious eating. Through hands-on gardening and interactive cooking classes, St. Mary’s Kids will experience the joys of planting vegetables and herbs in raised garden beds and the thrill of harvesting the fresh produce. They will discover the importance of healthy cooking, all while building self-confidence and improving social and physical skills. School and Community groups will be invited to join our patients in the garden. Once complete, the Community Garden will provide access to urban gardening and enriching instruction for children, families and educators throughout our region.
Please support St. Mary’s Community Garden by voting daily for our application on either www.facebook.com/seedsofchange or www.seedsofchangegrant.com. You can find us on the website by searching by zip code (11360) or by our garden name, St. Mary’s Community Garden.
