ANNUAL REPORT FY2017DREW HARRISON

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

759 KING STREET SUITE A

CHARLESTON, SC 29403

INFO@GREENHEARTSC.ORG

843.714.1350

LETTER FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTORGreen Heart Buddies,

Earlier this year, I was invited

to attend a dinner party in a

private home hosted by the

Transformation Table. And the

idea of these dinners is simple

— bring together a group of

strangers from different

backgrounds, ethnicities,

genders, religions and so on —

and enjoy a delicious meal

together while engaging in

thoughtful conversation. The

idea is a beautiful one, but

unfortunately in this day and

age, happens less and less.

Luckily for us, that night we

were wined and dined by the

amazingly talented chef, BJ

Dennis, whose poetic

description of the life, soul and

heritage of his dishes broke all

the ice and was the catalyst for

amazing table conversation.

The Green Heart Project was

founded on the principle of

respect - the feeling of deep

admiration, for our food, our

environment, our community,

and most importantly

ourselves.  And the process of

growing, eating & celebrating

food, together, we can connect

people and build community

while teaching these values to

the future leaders of our

community, our youth. 

Reflecting on our 7th year in

existence, its been amazing to

see and be a part of the

community we have grown

here in Charleston. Our garden

programs have been a platform

for education, celebrating

healthy food and connecting

people — all through our

common denominator. Food.

 The group shared nostalgic

food memories that defined

who we were. We talked,

listened, and all gained

perspective and understanding

— all while tasting amazing,

local, seasonal, fresh dishes. 

The night was magical.  And

for me, confirmed that food is

and always will be, the

common denominator that

unites us as humans. Food

nourishes our bodies and keeps

us healthy. It connects us to our

time and location — giving rise

to our cultures and traditions to

pass to future generations. It

makes us value and appreciate

what our lands can provide to

our communities through the

seasons. And sharing food is

the best way to create

community that crosses all

boundaries. 

We’ve grown our programs

into new schools, cultivating

more students, donors &

volunteers than ever before.

And we’ve dug deeper into our

programs, ensuring that our

curriculum is deeply rooted in

our mission. I’m excited to

share all that we’ve

accomplished this year in the

pages to follow, all of which

could not have happened

without our amazing Green

Heart Community.

RESPECT,

Drew Harrison

Executive Director 01

MISSION STATEMENT

The Green Heart Project builds garden-

based experiential learning projects to

educate students, connect people &

cultivate community through growing,

eating and celebrating food. 02

WHAT WE DO…

We Grow Minds. Our garden projects serve as outdoor classrooms to inspire our

students to eat healthy while connecting classroom curriculum to

hands-on, experiential learning.

We Grow Community. Our garden projects provide an opportunity for the community to get

involved, connect and give back through volunteer mentorship.

We Grow Food. We grow fruits & vegetables year-round to be tasted, shared and

celebrated.

We Grow Gardens. We build urban farms & school gardens that are sustained through

a collective effort of students, volunteers & the community.

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WHERE WE ARE…

4

1

2

2

MITCHELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (CCSD; Title 1) 1 In-School Program (CD - 5th Grade) 1 After-School Program (2nd-5th Grade) 2 Cooking Matters Classes

MEETING STREET ACADEMY (Independent; Serves Title 1 Students) 1 In-School Program (Kindergarten) 2 After-School Programs (3rd-5th Grade) 1 Cooking Matters Class

MEETING STREET ELEMENTARY (P3-CCSD; Title 1) 1 After-School Program (2nd-3rd)

SANDERS CLYDE (CCSD; Title 1) 2 After-School Program (2nd-3rd; 4th-5th)

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND ELEMENTARY (CCSD) 1 In-School Program (CD-5th Grade) 1 After-School Program (2nd-5th)

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WHAT WE DID…Growing Gardens.

GARDEN BUILDS • Trident United Way Day of Caring - we worked with 18

volunteers from Obviouslee Marketing to reinforce Meeting Street Academy’s garden beds at GrowFood Carolina.

• Trident United Way Day of Caring - we worked with 46 volunteers from Blackbaud to beautify Mitchell Elementary’s garden with a brick border, herb garden bed & other plantings.

• We worked with 15 volunteers from SeamonWhiteside to build 4 new raised beds for Mitchell Elementary School as seen in their newly established garden blueprint.

GARDEN DESIGNS

• We worked with landscape architects from

SeamonWhiteside to design a garden blueprint for Mitchell

Elementary’s schoolyard garden.

• We worked with landscape architects from

SeamonWhiteside to design a garden blueprint for Sanders

Clyde Elementary’s school garden.

• With SeamonWhiteside & community input, we developed

a concept for an urban farm at the Enston Homes to grow

our programming into 3 additional schools. 05

CONCEPT • The Urban Farm @ Enston Homes will

provide an opportunity for the upper peninsula community & surrounding schools to learn & connect to healthy food through urban farming.

DESIGN FACILITATION • Hosted 3 design charrettes to gather input &

feedback from residents of the Enston Homes.

• Final design presented to a community of

100+ people in partnership with the

SeamonWhiteside, The Sustainability Institute

& Taco Boy.

• Collected feedback from the broader

community through the ‘dotmocracy’ process.

PROSPECTIVE PARTNERS • City of Charleston

• Charleston Housing Authority

• American College of the Building Arts

• Charleston Parks Conservancy

PROSPECTIVE SCHOOLS • James Simons Elementary

• Charleston Catholic

• Charleston Math & Science

DOTMOCRACY

Growing Gardens.

URBAN FARM @ ENSTON HOMES

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Growing Minds.

56 Trained Green Heart Buddies

supported 1,200 students

240 In-school lessons connected

science curriculum to 7 grade levels

224 After-school lessons provided

hands-on learning in 5 school gardens

5 Farm & food education field trips

3 Cooking Matters culinary classes

10 Garden programs across 5 schools

WHAT WE DID…

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Growing Minds.

71% of our after-school students expressed

that has helped them better

understand science in the classroom.

83% of our students reported that they now

enjoy eating vegetables, and

95% now enjoy eating fruit,

thanks to .

100% of our students expressed that

they enjoy gardening with their big, volunteer

Buddies!

WHAT WE DID…

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5,000+

seeds planted

1,400 lbs.

produce harvested

650 seedlings

transplanted

84 different

fruits & vegetables

tasted

53 Varieties of

Crops Grown

All in 5 School

Gardens

Growing Food.

Crops Grown:

Basil Bush Beans Pole Beans

Beets Broccoli

Butternut Squash Cabbage Carrots Chives

Cilantro Collards

Corn Eggplant

Garlic Kale

Lemon Balm Lettuce

Mint Okra

Parsley Peas

Peppers Radish Squash

Strawberries Sunflowers Sunn Hemp

Sweet Potatoes Swiss Chard

Tomato Turnip

White Potatoes

WHAT WE DID…

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Cafeteria Servings2,750

Harvest Dinner1,126

Cooking Matters

432

Taste-Tests

2,828

Bites by the numbers…

92% of our Green Heart

Buddies are open to trying new

foods after participating in a

Green Heart Project program.

Eating & Celebrating Food.

WHAT WE DID…

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Growing Community. Growing Community.

BY THE NUMBERS:

• 2,660 hours (110 days) of

volunteering with the Green

Heart Project!

• 459 volunteers in our Green

Heart Project Community

• 70 Crop Mobs beautifying our

garden classrooms

• 41 Unique volunteer groups

came out to support our

school gardens

• 2 Harvest Dinners

Trident United Way Day of Caring

More than 66% of volunteers feel that working with the Green Heart Project improved their communication skills, and their ability to interact with people from different backgrounds.

WHAT WE DID…

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OUR HARVEST DINNER.

954 Guests!

Volunteers2%

Family Members37%

Community Members20%

School Staff11%

Donors14%

GH Students16%

The Harvest Dinner is the Green Heart Project’s end-of-year fundraiser to celebrate another season of growth connecting our students to healthy food and our community. Taking place alongside our flagship urban farm at Mitchell Elementary, our student-families, volunteers & supporters enjoy a beautiful evening with a delicious dinner sourced with local, healthy garden-fresh produce.

This year’s Harvest Dinner was brought together by

generous donations from 54 table sponsors and friends raising a record-breaking

$30,529.27 for the organization and our farm-

to-school programs. .

Special thanks to our title sponsors: .

Other2%

Hispanic1%

Caucasian41% A. American

56%

WHAT WE DID…

Click Here to

Watch the

video!

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"I love the lessons as much as the kids do - and its such a

cool way to get involved with kids in my neighborhood. This

program makes a huge difference in our future because it teaches these kids WHERE

their food comes from, the VALUE of trying new foods, and

that BEING HEALTHY can be fun. Keep it up!"

Farm-to-School programs as a whole have a say in

what our future could look like. If we provide kids

with an impactful education on the

importance of healthy, local food and what it

means for more than just their bodies, in 15 years, when they are filling up their grocery carts (or

farmers market baskets) their choices will look a lot different than what today’s

consumers’ carts do.

To me, Green Heart is one of the many

manifestations of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Beloved

Community - his global vision in which all people can share

in the wealth of the earth. Without a range of colors,

herbs, and flavors, no garden would be as full and vibrant as

our school gardens and community have grown to be!

We are really lucky to foster such an interconnected and

diverse community.

ANECDOTES

-Caleb Scruggs Bonner Leader, Green Heart Intern

-Allie Mason Program Director

I can’t wait to tell my grandparents about jackfruit! They live in

Bangladesh and promised me I could eat it when I visit them. And now I have a recipe to

teach THEM!

-Affia, 9 Student Meeting Street Elementary

-Anonymous GH Buddy

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2

IN THE NEWS…

Post & Courier - January 17, 2017 ‘New urban farm to take root’ - Front Page 

“The elementary school kids who participate in the Green Heart Project’s urban farming program seem to grow up almost as quickly as the fruits and veggies they plant every school year.”

Charleston Regional Business Journal Giving Guide’16-‘17 - Front Page

edible Charleston - Inaugural Issue Spring 2017 ‘Growing the Next Generation'

Natural Awakenings - December 2016 Issue Community Spotlight

‘All of those involved with the Project share a common goal of building community through this connection to food.’

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GREEN HEART PARTNER - $25K+

WE’VE GOT NOTHING BUT #GREENHEARTGRATITUDE FOR…

• Being our founding partner. Taco Boy and their owners, Karalee Nielsen Fallert & Jerry Scheer have provided critical funding, expertise and support for the organization since Karalee founded the non-profit organization in 2009.

• Providing a slew of positive, amazing volunteers from their downtown and Folly Beach locations. We can always count on Taco Boy employees (and their friends) to support our programs and students as volunteer mentors, role models and guest chef rockstars to our small Green Heart Buddies.

• The Tempura Avocado Taco. Not only is it absolutely delicious, but it has provided critical and consistent funding for our operating budget & programs since 2009!

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WE’VE GOT NOTHING BUT #GREENHEARTGRATITUDE FOR…

• Your expertise. The team of landscape architects at SeamonWhiteside have provided countless hours and a keen eye designing 3 school gardens & now one urban farm. Their designs provide beautiful visuals to our school gardens and a long-term vision for growing our outdoor classrooms at our partnering schools.

• Your amazing group of employees & company culture. It is always a blast working with the more-than-enough, positive & fun SW+ volunteers as we marathon build school gardens on the weekends. 15 garden beds down and plenty more to come!

• Your network. You always like to make it a community effort of colleagues and business partners to work with us and build our community!

GREEN HEART PARTNER - $25K+

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$5,000 - $9,999

Charleston Promise Neighborhood

Granna’s Gourmet

Half-Moon Outfitters & Columbia

Sportswear Company

Homegrown Hospitality

Kennedy-Herterich Foundation

Lindsey & Wes Carter

Indah Events

Meeting Street Academy

Friends of Sullivan's Island Elem.

Terri Henning

DONORS & SPONSORS

$1,000 - $2,499

Blue Ion

Braddock Family Foundation

Colony & Craft

Don & Susan Harrison

Fred Baker

Gildea Foundation

Good Done Great

Hotels for Hope

John & Mary Ann Dauble

Prospect Real Estate Partners

Sam Moore

Sertoma Club of Charleston

Ted’s Butcher Block

Timothy Liptak

Whole Kids Foundation

$2,500 - $4,999

College of Charleston Farm-to-

School Initiative

$500 - $999 Acacia Falzone Artist & Craftsman Supply Austin Ambrose Beverageboy BiblioLabs Blackbaud BNC Bank Boutique Planning Brackish Bowties Burke High Culinary Arts Butcher & Bee Candlefish Cannonborough Beverage Co. Charleston City Paper Charleston Fun Factory Cherokee, Inc. Compost Rangers Cru Catering D’Allesandro’s Pizza David Aylor Law Offices David Thompson Architect Dellz Uptown DJ Party Dad Hall’s Chophouse Harold’s Cabin Herlong & Associates Holy Spokes Howell & Christmas, LLC Huriyali Hyatt Place Charleston Law Office of Alex Toporek Lowcountry RC&D lululemon Marshall Walker Real Estate Melesa Watts Mercantile & Mash Meredith & Brad Ebenhoeh

$500 - $999 [Cont.] Moonlight Tees Nelson Printing Co. Network for Good Park Cafe PetVet Renzo Pizza & Wine Richard Lee Roper St. Francis Show & Tell Art and Design Shovels & Rope South State Bank SYG Designs Synchronicity Land + Architecture Technical Event Co. The Dampop Fund The Dewberry The Griffon The Juice Joint The Rarebit The Riley Center Valbridge Property Advisors Verde Virginia Mallard Williams & Walsh Attorneys at Law

$10,000 - $24,999

The Boeing Company

High Water Music Festival

Limehouse Produce

Revelry Brewing Co.

Scott E. Phillips Foundation

$2,500 - $4,999 [Cont.]

BlueKey Inc.

Frances Downing

GrowFood Carolina

James ‘Bear’ Dyke

Le Creuset

Meeting Street Elementary

TD Charitable Foundation

Tito’s Handmade Vodka

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DONORS & VOLUNTEERS$100 - $499 Abney Durham Albizia Apothecary Amy Horwitz Betsy Bamberg Beverly Gumb Bill Eubanks Boo Moore Caitlin Green Carol Smith Carolyn Cuttino Carolyn Eiserhardt CC&T Real Estate Charles Cole Chauncey Jordan Chris Duc Christopher O’Neal CurEat Dana Laurens Eve Spratt EVO Pizzeria Faye H. Gooding G. Todd Astor Ginny Deerin Harold’s Cabin Harriett Lee Harry Root Ideas into Action Jack Owens Jackie Ball Jenn Vannatta Jim Brock Joanna Walker Jordan Kirby Karalee Nielsen Fallert Kari MacLaughlin Katherine Bailey

$100 - $499 Kendra Stewart Lisa Brainerd Liz Boles Liz Mitchum Lou Giusto Louisa Hawkins Mary Kate McCulley Matt Sloan Michael Eisner Newkirk Environmental, Inc. Normandy Farms Randy Owen Rich Yessian Ruth Barrow Ruth Flynn Sara Thompson Sarah Ross Sheila Dworkin Skelly Stevens Steven Nielsen Susan Hamlin SYG Designs Tally DaPore Tara Stewart The Daily The Iron Yard The Obstinate Daughter Tina Heath-Schuttenberg Valerie Fallert Vouch Weston Fennell Will & Molly Ramsey William Curtis Zig & Kim Clayton

$50 - $99 Alex & Ani Anabel Mason Anne Marie Forsberg Barbara Fleming Calder Reardon Caroline Ledlie Clifton Edwards Danielle Zorn David Quick Elizabeth Craver Emily Muldrow Emily Randisi Erik Engstrom Evelynn Putnam Gavin McCulley Jeanny Motely-Meetze Joan McLeod Kendra Powers Kathy McCaskill Katie Luciano Katy Quinn Kaye Nance Lauren Clawson Lisa Crabbe Lorene Freehan Lowcountry Local First Lynn Kornya Mary Ann Seamon Patty Regan Potpourri Garden Club Rita Eiserhardt Rose Hefferon Sallie Pritchard Sandra Condon Stephanie Hunt Suzanne Jaco The Glass Onion Tui Allen Wynne Thomas

Volunteer Groups American College of the Building Arts Accountfully Alpha Epsilon Delta Alex & Ani Blackbaud Boeing Bonner Leaders - UNC Charlotte Butcher & Bee Candlefish CCSD Nutrition Services Charitable Society of Charleston Charleston Farmers Market Compost Rangers Five Loaves Cafe Glass Onion Granna’s Gourmet GrowFood Carolina High Water Music Festival College of Charleston Honors Engaged Program Ideas into Action Le Creuset lululemon Mitchell Elementary School Meeting Street Academy Meeting Street Elementary MUSC Urban Farm Obviouslee Marketing Revelry Brewing Co. Rotary Club of Charleston Sanders Clyde Elementary SeamonWhiteside Sustainability Institute Taco Boy Sertoma Club of Charleston Sierra Club Sullivan’s Island Elementary Enston Homes Residents Verde

Buddies Abbie Kline

Alex Goldstein

Alicia Raimann

Alisa Frye

Allison Hansen

Anna Burdecki

Anna Pritchard

Annie Carroccio

Annie Steadman

Audrey McCalley

Blake Mino

Caroline Monteith

Casey Finnen

Catherine Archer

Catt Weglicki

Colleen Dempsey

Devin Sharp

Elise Devoe

Elizabeth Bushey

Emily McDaniel

Emily Randisi

Erin Becwar

Faith Murray

Faith Huff

Genivieve (Clara)

Musselman

Grace Lee

Harrison Gilchrist

Hayley Baker

Jackie (Jacqueline)

Rogers

Jessie Riley

Julia Venditti

Kandra Phillips

Lacey Key

Madeline Kiser

Madison Rice

Maggie Mullis

Buddies [Cont.] Maria Stam

Mary Paige Pilkinton

Matt McCalley

Maura Manning

Mya Belden

Natassia Bryant

Niamh Cahill

Nora McIntyre

Olivia Larossa

Rebecca Schick

Rose Hefferon

Ross Bower

Samantha Lobrano

Sara Thompson

Sarah Bourne

Sarah Shtessel

Stephanie Tanzi

Suzette Fine

Trevor Leach

Will Ramsey

Cooking Matters Amy Shen

Casey Finnen

Catherine Dadmun

Deana Tourigny

Emeline Thorpe

Kaitlynn Schill

Lisa Love

Marisa Urda

Nicole Marriner

Crop Mob [William] Austin Norvell

Alicia Raimann

Andrea Nicole Harris-

Long

Bow Smith

Brandy Lytle

Caryn Gates

Casey Todd

Erik Engstrom

Erin Johnson

Jeffrey Kennedy

Joseph Kohut

Mandy Baker

Michael Pirozzi

Ross Bower

Samantha Ashikari

Sarah Bourne

Sarah Ledbetter

Zach Lascell

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Kendra Stewart - President

Weston Fennell - Vice President

Meredith Ebenhoeh - Treasurer

Jill Braddock - Secretary

Dirk Bedford

Abigail Walsh

Chauncey Jordan

Sam Moore

Dana Laurens

Ira Hill

Karalee Nielsen

Russ Seamon

Nikki Seibert

Harriett Lee

Kelly Timmons

Randy Owen

Skelly Stevens

Lou Giusto

Rich Yessian

Morneek Bellinger-Holloway

GREEN HEART STAFF

COLLEGE INTERNS ALLIE ASTOR MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

CRYSTAL MORELLI MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

CALEB SCRUGGS BONNER LEADER - PROGRAM ASST.

LACEY KEY - BONNER LEADER - PROGRAM ASST.

MARGARET STYPA - COOKING MATTERS COORDINATOR

ALEXA SMITH - COOKING MATTERS COORDINATOR

Sophie SergiadisNathan Burnell

Drew Harrison

Allie Mason

Volunteer Coordinator

Executive Director

Garden Coordinator

Program DirectorProgram Director

SPECIAL THANKS TO: HANNA ATTAFI - CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

VICTORIA DAVIS - MPA EVALUATION PROJECT

GARDEN CHAMPIONS LIZA WOOD - MITCHELL ELEMENTARY BETSY LAFORCE - SANDERS CLYDE

ERIN O’CONNOR - MEETING STREET ACADEMY RINI COSMOS - SULLIVAN’S ISLAND ELEMENTARY CHRIS WILLIAMS - MEETING STREET ELEMENTARY

PROGRAM MANAGERS KATY QUINN - MITCHELL & SULLIVAN’S ISLAND ELEM. ALICIA RAIMANN - MITCHELL ELEMENTARY ERIN SNOW - MEETING STREET ACADEMY COOPER MATTHESON - MEETING STREET ACADEMY JORDAN TIRAMANI - MEETING STREET ELEMENTARY

CAT BRANTLEY - SANDERS CLYDE JACKIE BALL - SULLIVAN’S ISLAND ELEMENTARY

Amanda Howell

LLF GROWING NEW FARMERS SOPHIE SERGIADIS KATIE SWIERGOSZ NATHAN BURNELL ALLIE KREUTZER

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Expenses vs. Revenues

FY'14

FY'15

FY'16

FY'17

FY'18

175,000 350,000 525,000 700,000

$23,480

$6,862

$19,914

$6,048

$341,904

$240,301

$194,242

$162,559

$91,625

$318,424

$233,439

$174,329

$176,278

$85,577

Expenses Revenue R. Earnings

FY2017 Revenue Sources

Sponsors$58,154

Program Income$25,617

In-Kind$19,215

Grants$14,500

Events $63,171

Donations$59,645

FY2017 Cost Allocations

Overhead19%

Fundraising29%

Programs52%

FY2017 FINANCIALS

Programming Cost Per Student: $10020

STRATEGIC PLANV

ER

TIC

AL

GR

OW

TH

- G

RO

W S

US

TAIN

AB

LY

HORIZONTAL GROWTH - BUILD CAPACITY

FY2018 • Build the Urban Farm @ Enston Homes to

serve 3 additional elementary school programs.

• Create a youth-development program for middle & high school students, growing program impact vertically, with a ‘pay-it-forward’ approach.

FY2018 • Grow 4 new school partnerships expanding into James Island &

Berkeley County.

• Improve program evaluation to include multiple stakeholders including parents & volunteers.

FY2017 • Hired 2 amazing full-time program directors - Allie Mason & Amanda

Howell to support our in-school & after-school programs.

• Created a strategic recruiting & training program to build capacity and empower 7 new program managers to support our 10 programs.

• Enhanced & bound our after-school & in-school program curriculums to allow easy program replication and grow into additional elementary schools.

FY2017 • Completed our 2nd year with an engaged

Board of Directors that has provided immense support through their networks, time, talent & treasures.

• Established one new successful multi-year event partner - High Water Music Festival.

• Established a partnership, design concept & lease with the Charleston Housing Authority to build an urban farm at the Enston Homes.

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Get Involved!

DONATE Sponsor a student or a class to participate in one of our farm-to-school programs.

SPONSOR We’re looking to grow our community of financial supporters for FY2018:

• Green Heart Partner - $25,000 • Community Sponsor - $10,000 • Program Sponsor - $5,000 • Garden Sponsor - $2,500 • Class Sponsor - $500

VOLUNTEER We are always looking for volunteers & volunteer groups to support our gardens and participate as Green Heart Buddies in our programs.

1102 B KING STREET

CHARLESTON, SC 29403INFO@GREENHEARTSC.ORG

843.714.1350

www.greenheartsc.org22