[ANNOUCEMENT] #LetsGrowHOU 2019 Fundraiser
March 8, 2019
Friend,
We invite you to become an investor in Plant It Forward! You will make a difference by enabling the transformational work Plant It Forward’s farmers are doing in providing Houstonians with healthy, local, chemical-free food.
Can we count on your financial support?
It’s never easy to ask for donations. But while our farmers earn a living through our fiscally sustainable enterprise programs, we still rely on philanthropic investment from donors like yourself to cover the costs of our farming mentorship and business training programs.
Bora Neema, pictured with her husband Materanya, is one of our newest farmers. She fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the Second Congo War – the world’s deadliest conflict since WWII – and spent about a decade in a refugee camp in Kenya.
Her college education was disrupted because of the conflict, and she spent those uncertain years working variously as a counselor, seamstress, farmer, and nutritionist to make ends meet for her family. Bora, her husband, and their children were eventually resettled in Houston through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in 2017. They have wasted no time in working around the clock in pursuing the American Dream and contributing to the local economy.
When asked about how she likes it here in the U.S., Bora says “I like America; it is a welcoming place for immigrants.” What a powerful sentiment about her reception in the Bayou City!
Bora’s 23-year-old daughter, Abigael, says “I haven’t seen my parents this driven in such a long time! I’m very grateful that the Plant It Forward community welcomed them with open arms. I’ve been so impressed with the organization’s training and support.”
Bora benefited from eight months of training in Plant It Forward’s Urban Farmer Business Course and is currently under the mentorship of our Farm Manager, Agriculture Consultant, and Master Farmers. She will continue to receive training on sustainable and efficient farming techniques and critical small business topics.
These mentorship and training programs cost money. Preparing new land for urban agriculture costs money. This is where you can make a difference in growing the local food culture in Houston and investing in refugee livelihoods.
When our farmers succeed, Houstonians benefit. Our farmers arrive here with the tenacity and grit to be successful as full-time market farmers; however, they face cultural and linguistic obstacles. This is where you can help.
Will you commit to giving?
We at Plant It Forward envision a welcoming, green, and resilient Houston that values fresh, local chemical-free fruits and vegetables; gives new Houstonians, like our farmers, an opportunity to build self-sustaining small businesses; and builds healthy communities around sustainable urban farms. Will you invest in this vision?
Donate today!
#LetsGrowHOU,
Team Plant It Forward
P.S. All donations are matched up to $15,000 — thanks to pledges from The Good People Fund ($7,500) and an anonymous donor ($7,500) — BEFORE APRIL 22nd.
Plant It Forward | info@plant-it-forward.org | (713) 432-0754
