Elevations Credit Union donated $20,000 to Big Green with the help of its members and the community at two events at Jessup Farm on Oct. 6. Funds raised support connecting kids to real food in the Poudre School District by building Learning Gardens at local schools.
On Oct. 6, hundreds of people visited Elevations Harvest Fest, a free daytime event with activities like planting seeds with Big Green and pumpkin decorating. In the evening, more than 100 people attended the Elevations Farm to Table Dinner fundraiser with Green River Ordinance, which included a dinner featuring seasonal dishes plus an intimate concert.
“We are very thankful to our community for coming out to support Big Green at Jessup Farm,” said Bryan Watkins, Northern Colorado Market President for Elevations Credit Union. “We are proud to support the learning gardens initiative in the Poudre School District and help Big Green make a real difference in our community.”
The funds donated to Big Green will help build four Learning Gardens in the Poudre School District at Tavelli Elementary, O'Dea Elementary, Laurel Elementary and Lincoln Middle School. The donation also goes toward a challenge match from the City of Fort Collin’s Nature in the City Initiative, which strives to create and enhance additional natural spaces while providing residents easy access to nature.
"We are so thankful for Elevations Credit Union," said Kristin Kirkpatrick, Regional Director for Big Green. "Because of their support, we are able to close our match and build four new Learning Gardens this fall, impacting 2,000 more students in the Poudre School District. Learning Gardens are outdoor classrooms designed to bring learning to life and connect kids to real food and food literacy programming. Big Green is so impressed with the commitment to this community that Elevations Credit Union has shown."
Big Green’s Learning Gardens are designed to improve the health of students and communities through experiential learning and garden-based education opportunities in low-income schools. Big Green will now have 17 Learning Gardens in Northern Colorado, 68 in Colorado, and 500 nationally.
