Gardens for Ridgewood Retirement Community

Our May activity has been planned for months and we couldn't be more excited! 

Ridgewood Active Retirement Community is fairly new to the Bennington area and the staff is working overtime to make sure the residents feel at home.  One thing they are most excited about this spring, is building a garden for the residents!  The Executive Director contacted Giving Back asking for assistance in building a raised garden for residents in wheel chairs... and of course we said YES!

So, mark your calendars for:

Saturday, May 15th at 9:00 a.m.

Ridgewood Active Retirement Community
12301 North 149th Circle in Bennington
(Located on the North side of Bennington at Hwy 36 & 149th Street)

They have been fortunate enough to get all of the supplies, plants and seeds donated except for compost.  If you would like to make a "compost donation", please let us know!

Since the gardens are new to the Community, supplies are limited.  If you have some of the following items at home, you may want to bring them:

Cordless Screwdriver
Hammer
Shovel
Hoe
Work Gloves
Level
Chalk Line
Tape Measure
Skill Saw
Saw Horses

If you are able to attend our May activity, please email emily.andres@gmail.com or karla_bates@hotmail.com.

Everyone has a reason for Giving Back, what's yours?

A little back tracking...

I apologize for the lack of blogging lately. I often forget that everyone is not on Facebook (and some vow to never join! We'll get you there some day Terri...) 


However, Giving Back has been very active!  We had an incredibly successful event in February, helping the Breakfast Club to collect a total of 402 pairs of shoes, which were shipped to Soles 4 Souls for shipment to Haiti! Thanks to Ensite & Anderson Industrial Engines for hosting drop spots. 


March was a hodgepodge month with tons of volunteer opportunities - through the Facebook group, we sent out notices about volunteering with the Ronald McDonald House, Open Door Mission & the Red Cross just to name a few. 


A little good news & then a promise to be better about updating...


First, Giving Back was nominated for a group award for the United Way Volunteers Awards and won!  We will be honored in the Family or Group category for "Making It Happen!" Go us!


Also, many of you know that I have been searching for a job with a non-profit organization for the past year. I am happy to inform you that I have been offered (and obviously accepted!) a position with the Girl Scouts Spirit of Nebraska working in Membership & Volunteerism. I am so excited to start this new chapter in my life & you can bet there will be a project in the near future working with the Girl Scouts!


Thank you everyone for your commitment to Giving Back!


~Karla