Making the Grass
Greener
Enhancing lives through the benefits of gardens and greenspaces At ScottsMiracle-Gro, altruism is woven into the very fabric of its DNA, both within the company culture and—arguably more importantly—within communities nationwide. “As the largest marketer of lawn and garden products, we’re well-suited to help communities develop public gardens and greenspaces, and we’ve been doing that for a very long time,” says Lindsay LaSala, who manages relationships between local communities and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation. “But even more so, we feel it’s our social responsibility to do so.” In 2011, ScottsMiracle-Gro made a move to be more strategic with its philanthropic programming with the launch of GRO1000. The program’s goal is to bring the life-enhancing benefits of community gardens and greenspaces to the neighborhoods that need them most by supporting the creation of 1,000 new public greenscapes. This year, the planting of the 1,000th garden will coincide with the company’s celebration of its 150th anniversary.
n n ities
To participate in the program, nonprofit organizations apply for a grant, which provides the funding and resources to create a neighborhood garden or greenspace. Each year, the grant program receives about 1,000 applications. The GRO1000 team then vets all applications to determine which potential recipients meet the guidelines, which include maximizing community impact. “Do the applicants reach an underserved population, or are they involving at-risk youth in the garden? Is it an edible garden that has a donation component? Those are all important factors,” says LaSala.
150 years and growing Columbus Monthly MARCH 2014
001-032_Scotts.indd 23
23 23
3/1/18 5:21 PM
