by Lindsey Getz – This story was re-published with permission of Total Landscape Care
Oasis Turf and Tree has helped to fertilize the Dayton National Cemetery.
The season between Thanksgiving and New Year’s often ends up being a time when many are thinking about giving back. It’s no different for lawn and landscaping companies. Across the country, many landscapers are finding ways to serve their local communities and give back where they can. While it certainly benefits the community, it also ends up impacting the team, as well.
This is something that Oasis Turf & Tree in Loveland, Ohio has learned over the years. They find that team members really appreciate the opportunity to be involved in service projects and to be part of a company that cares about giving back. Some of the charities that Oasis has been directly involved with over the years include the Ronald McDonald House, The Dragonfly Foundation, and CancerFree Kids. They’ve shut down in the middle of a workday to go to Ronald McDonald House and prep meals.
Oasis has also donated time and equipment to help fertilize the Dayton National Cemetery.
“One of the best feelings is when we find out team members went out and participated in charity events or volunteered on their weekends without it even being a team event,” adds Rob Reindl, founder of the company. “They really take it to heart and want to give back on their own time, too.”
— at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Cincinnati in 2017
Joshua Tree Making it easy for the team to help
Joshua Tree participated in Toys for Tots at both of the company’s locations this year.Joshua Tree
While organized events are always a great way to help the community, there are even simpler and easier ways to help. Organizing a food drive or collecting for a charity like Toys for Tots makes it really simple for team members to get involved.
Joshua Tree, which has locations in Souderton and Stockertown, Pennsylvania collected for Toys for Tots this year when the company’s customer service supervisor and human resources manager made the suggestion that it would be a great way to give back.
“We had one box at each location and they were filled very quickly,” shares Madison Malik, marketing manager. “In fact, one of our account managers, Ken, even gave his kids $100 to shop for the toys to donate. It was a way to involve families. As a company, we also budgeted some money to shop and donate some gifts from Joshua Tree.”
In Wrentham, Massachusetts, Landscape America hosted a food drive and donated everything to the Wrentham Food Bank.
“We’ve been focused on giving back even more to the community lately, beyond our annual donation projects,” explains company president Doug McDuff, MCLP, MCA. “I think our team gets great energy from helping others and we have the resources to contribute and improve other people’s days, weeks, and so on. The food drive was simple, rewarding, and helped us fulfill this goal, and validate one of our Core Values, which is: ‘Be Positive and Helpful.’ We are looking forward to expanding our charitable efforts for 2022 and beyond.”https://693981227a77d8fb6ed1b6e3d1f133db.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
A group effort
Yellowstone Landscape has been working with the Industry Collective to give back.Yellowstone Landscape
Working together can make a really big impact. That’s why Yellowstone Landscape, a national commercial landscaping company headquartered in Bunnell, Florida, decided to become involved in Industry Collective. This effort is being led by a group of lawn and landscaping companies who believe that together they can make a bigger impact. They’ve done this by partnering with Rhino Impact Group, an organization that helps to coordinate large-scale efforts by allowing companies to use their team members to serve where needed.
According to Joseph Barnes, marketing director for Yellowstone, they have participated in several projects including a back-to-school backpack project where they assembled backpacks with everything that kids-in-need could use for school. They also helped to assemble hygiene kits for the homeless and they’ll soon be putting together meal kits for kids who rely on school meals.
“A company like ours that has a large number of team members can do a lot when it comes to these types of projects,” Barnes explains. “We believe that when we work together, we can have the biggest impact.”
