Sowing Seeds competes for national grant

VAIL — The Youth Foundation’s Sowing Seeds life science and personal health educational program is currently in the running for a national Seeds of Change grant, and they are asking for your vote.

Up for grabs are two $20,000 awards, as well as 15 $10,000 grants from the program that works to enhance the environmental, economic and social well-being of gardens, farms, farmers and communities. If fortunate enough to win one of the awards, the Youth Foundation would utilize the funds to build a sustainable garden at Eagle Valley Elementary School.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for the Sowing Seeds Program, and I hope that everyone will take a little bit of time to vote for us,” said Melisa Rewold-Thuon, vice president of education for the Vail Valley Foundation. “Sowing Seeds has made a huge difference in this community and showing your support by voting can help us take another big step forward.”

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VOTE ONLINE

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Now through April 21, members of the Vail Valley community have the opportunity to vote for the organization they feel most deserves a grant, based on an individual program’s demonstration of how the grant would help achieve its goals. Supporters may submit one vote per day through the duration of the process, with voting available online at http://www.seedsof changegrant.com or facebook.com/seedsof change. Once voting closes, the 50 organizations garnering the most votes will move on to the final judging stage. Grant recipients will be announced May 5.

Funding for the Seeds of Change grant program comes from the online gardening and organic food retailer’s 1Percent Fund, the company’s commitment to donate 1 percent of net sales to support community-based nutrition, gardening and farming programs. Seeds of Change was founded in 1989 by passionate gardeners who had a vision to make organically grown seeds available to gardeners and farmers, while preserving countless heirloom seed varieties in danger of being lost to the “advances” of modern industrial agriculture. In 1997, the business expanded to also include organic food, inspired by the notion that great taste and sustainability go hand in hand.

ABOUT SOWING SEEDS

Founded in 2010, Sowing Seeds connects children to the environment, fosters understanding of the origin of food and teaches responsibility, while encouraging children to make good food choices. Using school gardens and a greenhouse, Sowing Seeds augments classroom studies by feeding an interest in botany, biology and math.

Acclaimed chef Kelly Liken is a key partner in Sowing Seeds and teaches Cook with a Chef classes to demonstrate that healthy cooking can be fun and delicious.

For additional information on Sowing Seeds, visit http://www.vvf.org. For more information on Seeds of Change, check out http://www.seedsofchange.com. The Youth Foundation is the educational arm of the Vail Valley Foundation.