In May 1999, a partnership was formed between National Garden Clubs, Inc. and Habitat for Humanity. HFH's mission is to eliminate poverty housing from the face of the earth. NGC's goal is to encourage local garden clubs to share their expertise in gardening and landscaping with the owners of Habitat homes. In some cases, local businesses will provide materials to encourage beautification of the properties. In a recent example, the Florida Federation of Garden Club members successfully had graduates of NGC Schools teach a landscaping maintenance seminar to 18 new Habitat for Humanity homeowners. Ames tools, an NGC corporate partner, provided a hose and hose reel for each homeowner.
Habitat for Humanity Garden’s philosophy is that no commitment, physical or monetary, is too small. All endeavors and contributions will be gratefully acknowledged. State chairmen, please contact the Habitat for Humanity Chairman and share fun facts and stories. We hope to build a nationwide community through social media with this project.
A direct line of communication has been put in place for one-on-one networking between HFH Affiliates and garden club representatives. The more than 1,500 HFH Affiliates have been made aware of the NGC and HFH partnership.
The program's emphasis is on enhancing the environment by landscaping HFH homes with hearty native trees, shrubs, plants, and flowers that also attract butterflies. It is the hope of NGC to have the community, both adult and young gardeners, involved in this very worthy project. NGC's goal is 100% state participation, in some manner, across the nation.