Community Garden Needs Your Help

http://www.justmeans.com/contestidea?ideaid=MA==

The above url will take you to a contest to win a $22,000 grant for a project that is special to me. I visited Heartland Gardens in Ft. Myers, Florida as research for my next article in Southwest Spotlight www.swspotlight.com
on Beauty and Bounty - Florida Friendly Landscaping meets Edible Landscaping.

Heartland Gardens is an unassuming new non-profit community garden - a garden started by two people that proves one person can make a difference. Their sophisticated, labor saving method of gardening is both beautiful and bountiful. It is designed not only for its original members but to ripple into other homes and communities.

I am doing something I have never done before, I am soliciting your vote. If you go to the url at the beginning of this article and "VOTE" for Benny Pena's idea, it will support his grant application. I dislike this means of securing funding; however, I appreciate the effort it takes in this economy to do something worthwhile and get the money for its support.

So, if you have a minute to visit the Heartland Gardens website and like what you see, the $22,000 would make a major difference in their ability to bring their ideas to more people. Your vote may help.

I feel appropriate in bringing this to your attention since it is related to my journalism research and is just a generally good thing for people.

Oops - Heartland Gardens website: www.heartlandgardens.org

I think I got it done.

Thank you, Alice. I appreciate your support. This online voting stuff does not suit me well. However, more and more things are that way these days. I do know that this is legitimate as a recipient as I have been there...I know the money will be put to good use. However, I don't know if they have a big enough network to outvote other projects...

My vote is in, too! It said that you can vote once a day. I'll do it again tomorrow and every other day I can remember to do it.

Helen

I will vote every day, too. I really like their idea. I wonder if I could get a grant for the hydroponic operation.



How does one go about applying for a grant?



Love,

Betty

Thank you all for voting. Betty, you might be able to. Check out the home page for the voting site and see how you apply.

I really appreciate each of you for voting. I believe it is the innovators who start small and grow that are the strength of this country. Heartland Gardens is nothing but good stuff for everyone involved and has promise of spreading.

His model includes members that work in the garden and benefit from the product of their labor. I think the buy in is important to its success. He has a class starting that each person learns how to garden by working in the garden and by the end of the class they have all they need to finish their own.

Dear DK,

I do hope they win the grant. I was talking about it with my David this night. He is a reluctant hero. Afraid of lots of strangers coming here when it is only myself. I need to learn a lot more about how the idea can connect to our operation. Today, I spent the day covering the stacks with bags to solarize. I am so tired. If I were younger, had more stamina. Sometimes an idea seems so simple, but the implementation requires so much labor, or money to hire labor.



You are one in millions, my dear.



Love,

Betty

Betty, I know if you contacted Benny Pena, he would be happy to give you advice and direct you to sources for advice. He speaks in simple words. Maybe you could get some relief with "members" - but with more people come new things, too. Send him an email. The contact info is at his web site.

Thanks for your kind compliment; my spirit is in the right place; my action motor is sometimes slower than I'd like.