A team of students from Shaler Area High School took it upon themselves to begin a project, called The Seeds of Hope Project. The Seeds of Hope Project focuses on showing appreciation for American troops overseas and their families through victory gardens.
Shaler High School students are cultivating various vegetables and herbs in local community gardens. Half of the crops will be sold to people in the Shaler Area. The profits from this half will go to their local Veteran’s Affairs. The remaining crops will be equally distributed in dresser drawers, with patriotic hand painted murals on them, to 50 families of deployed soldiers.
The Seeds of Hope Project is touching a number of communities, organizations, and people including Shaler Township, Reserve Township, Etna Borough, and Millvale Borough. Contributing organizations include Sorgel’s Orchard Farms, Walmart, Home Depot, and Phipp’s Conservatory. Shaler students and students from the University of Vermont came during their spring break, to help Shaler students plant the crops. The Shaler students will care for and nurture the gardens until the harvest and also be responsible for the sale and delivery of the painted drawers full of victory garden produce.
The goal of The Seeds of Hope Project is to open the eyes of our community so everyone can see that our troops and their families not only should be, but can be gratefully appreciated during and after deployments. No matter how big or how small of a contribution is made to these families they are truly appreciative. We desire that The Seeds of Hope Project will help sprout ideas in more citizens to reach out and start their own projects to help show our country’s great appreciation for our soldiers, foreign and domestic, along with the families that sacrifice so much.
