You can make a difference by volunteering to do lawn care for a military family in your community.
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 serve 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," said 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.
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.