Vego Garden 2023 Community Efforts Overview

Houston, TX, January 7th, 2023 – As the leader in gardening innovation, Vego Garden has dedicated continued efforts this year in its quest to give back to communities. Through our Giving Back Program, we continue to serve local communities and underprivileged individuals, achieving significant progress via numerous partnerships with renowned social groups and organizations. 

With our firm belief in the therapeutic power of gardening and our unwavering focus on corporate social responsibility, we have lent support to social, educational, health, and government efforts in various communities with garden bed donations throughout the year. These efforts have been met with much praise and enthusiasm. 

Once again in December, Vego Garden’s Giving Back Program achieved encouraging results surpassing the previous month, with donations made to 11 organizations. As of this year, we have joined hands with 36 schools; 17 501(c)(3) organizations; 21 non-profit organizations; 4 church programs; 2 government programs; and one hospital. Since the program’s inception, we have partnered with a total of 81 influential community organizations, with 284 garden beds, add ons, and accessories donated - as we usher in a new year full of hope and more community partnerships to come!

Encouraging Progress with Schools 

Our collaborations with schools and academic organizations have been particularly fruitful, amounting to the largest number of donations through the program this year. We have currently joined hands with 32 schools, emphasizing our contribution and support to future generations of society.

One of the highlights of our partnerships with schools is Fairfax, Virginia-based W.T. Woodson High School, one of the top-ranked public high schools in the region. Woodson is featured year after year in the Top 100 List of US Public Schools in renowned publications like Newsweek. 

As part of the Eagle Scout project "Woodson High School Courtyard Appeal Restoration” with Troop 187, Vego Garden’s donated beds will be used to build a new garden area with native plants and a picnic table - with the aim to encourage students and staff to spend more time outdoors and fully appreciate nature.

We also supported the work of the Food Mill, a branch of UGROW, Inc. based in Columbus, Georgia. As a well-known food farmacy, the organization aims to eliminate barriers and solve food insecurity issues in the Columbus community.

In support of its Farm to School Program serving 8 schools in the county offering hands-on gardening education, Vego Garden donated 5 6-in-1 modular raised garden bed kits, which will be used at a school without an established garden space. Students will plant, care for and harvest produce through classes on nutrition and urban agriculture.

Supporting Non-Profit Causes 

Non-profit organizations are amongst the forerunners in social service and efforts to serve the needs of communities. We have partnered with a significant number of non-profit and 501(c)(3) organizations this year, as a testament to our focus on supporting social causes. 

One of these non-profit groups is the Community Action of Orleans and Genesee, founded in 1965 as part of a movement to combat poverty. The renowned community agency has assisted disadvantaged individuals in Orleans County for nearly 60 years - with 1077 low-income citizens benefiting from the agency’s food pantries and prepared meals.

Vego Garden is proud to support their efforts and donated three garden beds that were planted in the agency, to help educate low-income families on growing and preparing food from gardens, and becoming self-sufficient. 

We also backed the efforts of the Outreach United Resource Center, a nonprofit organization serving the St. Vrain Valley along Colorado's Front Range. With the mission to help people achieve self-sufficiency, one of their largest services is their food program -  comprising a community cafe offering free breakfasts and lunches, and a community market providing take-home groceries to support disadvantaged individuals. 

Vego’s garden beds are used to replace their existing 12-inch wooden beds, which have become worn and splintered from years of use. These taller beds will make it easier for the center’s elderly volunteers to plant and manage produce. 

Empowering Government Work in Communities 

Our efforts to serve communities gained more impact and awareness with government support. One of the key government projects we lent support to this last year is for the Oxnard Public Library in Oxnard, California, with donations including 6 Self-Watering Rolling Planters and 4 Self-Watering Rolling Garden Beds. A new space in the library with a dedicated garden area will be built with Vego Garden beds, to foster public education on food security and interactive life skills. 

Another government-related highlight is our collaboration with the Ruff'ton Roots Community Garden, a volunteer service in Rutherfordton, North Carolina - receiving donations from us in the form of five 32" Extra Tall 9 In 1 Modular Metal Raised Garden Bed Kits. They were used for the garden’s expansion in order to meet the accessibility needs of more senior volunteers. All harvests from the community garden are donated to food pantries throughout Rutherford County.

Health Matters 

Health is a priority for all of us and is also a key focus of our program. In this regard, we joined hands with the Encompass Rehabilitation Hospital in Lakeland Florida, contributing to their therapeutic gardening program with our 32-inch raised beds. This gardening program was developed under the leadership of their occupational therapy team to cultivate and promote a lifelong passion for environmentalism, community, and healthier lifestyles - as gardening has been proven to be an activity that reduces anxiety. 

From Exhibition to Garden 

We also donated garden beds to community groups from commercial exhibitions we participated in this year. One of these groups is Troop 530, a scout organization with the goal of empowering youths to become responsible and participating citizens, with the integrity and character to be tomorrow's leaders.

Members of the group arrived at Vego Garden's exhibition at the Oregon Convention Center in a display of genuine enthusiasm, receiving the donations in person. Our donations contributed to the Eagle Project - designed to help refurbish a community garden in Tigard, Oregon, whereby 75 students from a nearby secular school will benefit from gardening classes using our garden beds.

Another key organization that benefitted from our exhibits is JARC Florida, a social aid organization providing programs and services to educate and empower individuals with disabilities. 

Members of the group attended Vego Garden's offline exhibition in Orlando on September 21st and picked up all our donated products. These newly acquired garden beds will be used to grow food for low-income individuals with autism and related disabilities.

Our Pledge for 2024

As we enter a brand new year, Vego Garden’s Giving Back Program continues to make meaningful progress with more room to grow! It will continue to represent our pledge to give back in meaningful and sustainable ways to local communities and those in need. 

This ongoing conviction will continue this year, and we look forward to more fruitful partnerships with community and social-aid groups in the coming months! Through the program, we will work together with our community partners in different sectors and capacities, with resolve and focus highlighting our commitment to corporate social responsibility.