Spring Fundraiser – Join our monthly giving program!
Spring has come much too early this year. From those 70-degree days in February, plants took off early out of the starting block. Even though we’ve had a snowfall since then and some additional cold days, the warm weather is here, and it’s time to get all the goods into the ground. There are times during the season that we need to work overtime, and this is one of them. Our water system is in, but needs some fine-tuning. Some of our seeds are in, but lots more of our beds need to be prepped and planted. Trees and plants around the property need to be fed with our mix of compost and organic fertilizers. Staking, netting, weeding, planting borders and shrubs… there is work aplenty.
This has made our volunteer days all the more meaningful. With our volunteers’ help we have composted and planted a few of our beds, trimmed our grapes for their growing season, netted the strawberries – many already bearing tiny green fruits, thinned some of our herb and vegetable beds and even rebuilt one of our beds. One of our abundant harvests has been our baby lettuces. We planted another bed’s worth yesterday, as the mature ones will soon be donated.
Spring Fundraising Drive
At this time of year, we also put forth our fundraiser for the spring/summer/fall seasons. We’d love to be in the position to host 2-4 interns this year, teaching them professional skills, building friendships and helping to foster more food gardens around greater Chicagoland, particularly for the impoverished. Additionally, there are tools and supplies needed to set up those gardens: raised beds, plants and seeds, drip system components and more.
For the first time, we are inviting you to make a recurring donation. This will help keep our funds flowing from month to month. Your contribution may of any size. You might find the idea of a monthly contribution to be overwhelming, but a donation of $18 – Chai, or Life, in Hebrew – might be manageable. Or smaller, or larger. If you are in a position to help source a new garden at $100 per month, or to fund an intern at $1500 per month, you will help to transform lives. We ask your generosity in whatever way is meaningful to you. Of course, one time donations are always welcome, and can be arranged through PayPal.
You may also donate in someone's honor or memory, through PayPal. Just set your amount in the PayPal box and click on either of the two donate buttons. Then click on "Special instructions for In the Gardens," and type between the two lines, sending us information on your tribute or honor, including an address where we can send an acknowledgment. It sounds complex, but it's really quite simple!
Volunteer Days
To help move this season forward, we have added volunteer days to our schedule. We begin with two days on Memorial Day weekend, both Sunday and Monday, and then head into June and July:
Sunday, May 28, 12 Noon-6:00 PM
Monday May 29, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
Sunday, June 11, 10:00 AM-4:00 PM
Sunday, July 2, 10:00 AM-4:00 PM
We invite you to come when you can and stay as long as you like. All we ask is for you to let us know when to expect you, so we can better plan each event and make sure there are enough refreshments for all.
RSVP for any of these events at: www.volunteersignup.org/L4LYA
Questions? Comments? Would you like to help at a different day or time?
Send an email to rabbidamsky@inthegardens.org
See our Facebook Event page: www.facebook.com/InTheGardens/events/
Or click the blue link at the bottom of the Volunteer.org Signup Sheet.
As we hope to bless others with bounty this season, may you likewise be blessed,
Rabbi Robin Damsky
Founder and Executive Director of In the Gardens