Growing Our Future is a donation funded community program based in Bemidji, MN. We provide free gardening kits to local youth ages 18 and under. The program was started back in January of 2021 with a small $350 grant from The Youth Voice Service Grant. When we received this grant, we expected to make 20, maybe 30 Seed starting/Starter garden kits. However, our community stepped up and promptly quadrupled our funds and more. It was amazing to see. There was so much love and appreciation for this program from the very beginning, before we even know what our goals were; what path we wanted to take. This outpouring of support really set this program in stone. We distributed 130 gardening kits to youth from in and around Bemidji, MN in March of 2021. We brought gardening and a sense of self sustainability into the lives of over 130 young people and their families. Our starter garden kits were so successful that we immediately started thinking about what we could do next, and how. Obviously, we would need more donations, we would have to apply for more grants and do much more email-outreach. This wasn’t a problem. What will we do the next kit on, though? Our summer typically only lasts for about 115 days. That is not enough time to do much more gardening!
After careful consideration and a lot of lists and spreadsheets, we decided that an indoor herb gardening kit would be PERFECT for our area! What could possibly be better than year-round gardening and greenery? Not much! We then went on and applied for a few more grants. We received 2 out of 4 of them! The first being the Ann Bancroft Foundation Grant and the second being a Power of Youth All-State Foundation grant. Both grants were smaller, but when put together and added to community donations, we knew it was safe to start the implementation of our Indoor Herb Gardening Kits.
We plan to distribute 200 Herb Gardening kits, and with community donations and product donations, we will absolutely reach our goal.
All youth deserve the opportunity to garden, regardless of their financial status or living situation. Gardening is for everyone. You don’t need a “Green Thumb.” All you need is seeds, soil, and someone to believe in you. We believe in youth. Youth are the future. There is no way around that, and it is up to us to make sure our future is in good, caring hands. A generation of youth that knows how to use a spade and grow a garden will, someday, be much more valuable than a generation of adults that can only operate a smart phone. Thank you so much for getting to know us, and thank you even more for helping us "Grow Our Future.”
After careful consideration and a lot of lists and spreadsheets, we decided that an indoor herb gardening kit would be PERFECT for our area! What could possibly be better than year-round gardening and greenery? Not much! We then went on and applied for a few more grants. We received 2 out of 4 of them! The first being the Ann Bancroft Foundation Grant and the second being a Power of Youth All-State Foundation grant. Both grants were smaller, but when put together and added to community donations, we knew it was safe to start the implementation of our Indoor Herb Gardening Kits.
We plan to distribute 200 Herb Gardening kits, and with community donations and product donations, we will absolutely reach our goal.
All youth deserve the opportunity to garden, regardless of their financial status or living situation. Gardening is for everyone. You don’t need a “Green Thumb.” All you need is seeds, soil, and someone to believe in you. We believe in youth. Youth are the future. There is no way around that, and it is up to us to make sure our future is in good, caring hands. A generation of youth that knows how to use a spade and grow a garden will, someday, be much more valuable than a generation of adults that can only operate a smart phone. Thank you so much for getting to know us, and thank you even more for helping us "Grow Our Future.”
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
