Supporting Community Gardens, School Gardens, Compost Demonstration Sites, & associated Nonprofits

Knowing that fresh and healthy food and reducing green waste in landfills is vital to people and communities, we started this monthly donation program. What better gift to give everyone than the love of making compost, growing things, and healthy communities everywhere!

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Congratulations to …
Digg-Latham School Garden

Here is a wonderful bio of Irma Jackson taken from a list of outstanding Bennett College alumnae:

Irma Bivens Jackson, '70

Belle Jackson was featured in the Winston Salem Journal for her work as a master gardener. Jackson began volunteering at her grandson's school, Diggs- Latham, when he was in pre-kindergarten and decided to start a community garden at the school. In the beginning, she was a committee of one. A few teachers, parents and students would drop by and help on occasion, but no one stayed long-term. Determined, Jackson was not ready to give up on her idea of a garden where children could learn about growing things. It was hard in the beginning because when the soil was first turned, it was discovered that building debris had been buried where the garden was to be. As the soil was tilled, often rocks, bricks and other items turned up, making it difficult to prepare for planting. But Belle Jackson was not deterred. She applied for a grant from the Whole Foods Foundation and received $2,000 to help purchase a much-needed tiller. Her first plants were donated lettuce that was too wilted to sell. Through people she met at Old Salem who were starting a children's garden, she learned about seed collections and helped to launch the Homowo seed collection project, which collects seeds primarily from Africa or with African-American roots. Her grandson is now grown, but Jackson continues to maintain the community garden. Some of the produce from the garden goes into the school's Backpack Program to feed hungry children. The garden has yielded strawberries, cherry tomatoes, carrots, peanuts, asparagus, and even green cotton. Although green cotton isn't a food, it teaches children what cotton looks like before it is cleaned, spun and woven into cloth. Becoming a Master Gardener was never part of Jackson's plan. A friend who was taking the Master Gardening class through the NC Agricultural Extension Agency asked Irma to come with her. Since she happened to have some free time, she took the class, became a Master Gardener, and recently was honored as the Agricultural Volunteer of the Year.

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See Past Donations
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We are always looking for new submissions!

If you would like to be considered for this donation, please let us know below. Recipients will receive one Compost Crank® and our new Twist. In addition, a post featuring your group or organization here on our website, a link to your online presence of choice, plus a shout-out on our social media pages. Nominate your group or organization by filling out the form below or send us an email with all the information to info@compostcrank.com.

Keep watching here, on Facebook, and on Twitter for the next awesome recipient!

Content written in the “Your Message” box may be used to highlight your organization on our social media pages and website (above), as well as in our promotional materials.

Note: This program is limited to U.S. based groups or organizations only. Please allow 1 week for your request to be processed (please follow up with us if you do not hear back). Only one donation per group or organization. One recipient will be selected each month and will be notified by email. We are sorry we have to have exclusions. Thank you!

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