Houston, TX, January 17th, 2025  – As the gardening industry’s innovation leader, Vego Garden has committed itself in the past year to empowering local communities and underprivileged individuals via its Giving Back Program. Throughout 2024, the program has continued to gain momentum, with new alliances and partnerships formed, offering our support to key community groups and organizations. We are fuelled by continued efforts that have contributed to further social change, as we continue our quest to give back in 2025. 

With corporate social responsibility at the core of our business, Vego Garden continues to support various social, non-profit, charitable, and educational projects in local communities in which we operate. As we enter 2025, let’s review the past year’s results: the Giving Back Program provided garden bed donations to a total of 208 organizations last year. These include donations to 83 non-profit organizations, 104 schools, 8 churches, 5 community programs, 3 associations, 2 hospitals, 1 ranch, and 2 individual programs. Since the start of 2024, we have joined hands with various key organizations to further real social change. 

Cultivating the Seed for Education

We introduced the School Garden Program for the Giving Back Program in 2024, and school organizations also received the largest number of donations through the program this year. We have currently joined hands with 104 school organizations, highlighting our commitment to supporting the growth and development of the next generation, while actively promoting our core values in social responsibility.

One of the notable schools we worked with in 2024 is the Keystone Montessori School based in River Forest, Illinois. It was established in March 1994 and incorporated as a not-for-profit parent-teacher initiative, meeting the standards established by the Association Montessori International (AMI). Students used our garden beds to plant and harvest herbs and vegetables, giving them the opportunity to experience gardening firsthand and enjoy the fruits of their labor. 

Located in North Carolina, the Children's Cooperative Playschool is another school that benefited from our donations. The family-oriented half-day preschool is on a mission to provide high-quality child care and a loving and nurturing first-school experience for children. Our garden beds help protect a hill next to their non-profit partner school from further erosion, and a space for local pollinators. The beds will also encourage children to care for the garden and teach them the importance of environmental conservation and the role of bees.

We also joined hands with the Nature Club at Avalon Elementary, focused on environmental education and outdoor activities. They replaced old wooden raised beds with Vego Garden beds for planting, teaching children about seasonal plants at their garden. Moreover, the school offers nutrition-based cooking classes, helping kids understand the importance of healthy eating habits.

Another school we supported in 2024 is the Livingston Academy in Florida. A non-profit childcare center committed to creating a safe and developmentally appropriate Christian environment, the academy offers high-quality child care. They are building a butterfly garden in their nursery. By installing Vego’s raised beds, they can now prevent rabbits from eating the plants that attract butterflies. They aim to involve students in planting various butterfly host plants and nectar flowers, allowing them to observe the butterfly life cycle firsthand.

Non-Profit Alliances 

Non-profit organizations are a core group that we joined hands with last year, achieving notable results via 83 key partners. One of these notable partners is the Meiners Oaks Community Garden, a 7,500-square-foot property located in the center of the bustling Meiners Oaks in California. The property started as vacant land and is now a garden oasis the community can enjoy. Vego Garden is proud to ensure that every member of the community has access to the garden. At the back of the garden, there will be a space for people to gather and hold garden-based workshops to support the community on their growing journey, with our garden beds serving as demonstrations.

We also supported the work of Cultivating Inclusion Farm, an organization for young adults with special needs focused on helping them develop practical skills in a garden setting. Vego Garden beds will be used to plant new vegetables for these young adults to maintain and harvest crops to be used in food pantries.

Faith for Empowerment 

Churches act as pillars for the community and members with religious faith. Via our donations, we have partnered with 8 churches in the past year, including Lutheran Church of Our Saviour. Founded in 1977, the church aims to educate and engage residents and young people through gardening. They used our 17" Tall U-shaped raised Garden Bed Kit to provide preschool children with real-world gardening experiences, instill a sense of responsibility, and contribute to a greener, healthier community.

Community in Our Hearts 

The ultimate goal of the Giving Back Program is to empower and give back to the communities we operate in, and this is exactly what we did in 2024. We are proud to support the efforts of groups that serve the underprivileged, like the Wright Community Assistance, which has been providing help since 1986. They serve a county population of around 2,000 households, using our 17" Tall U Shaped Raised Garden Bed Kits and Self-Watering Garden Beds to help grow food for the hungry and demonstrate self-sufficient food sourcing.

We also lent support to the Cambridge Mosaic Program, an innovative transition program for Humble ISD students receiving special education services and meeting specific eligibility requirements for active transition into adult life. They used our 17" Tall 6 In 1 Medium Modular Metal Raised Garden Bed Kits to plant vegetables and herbs. These are used in cooking and also sold in a farmer's market. 

Our Pledge for 2025 

After a year of progress and dedicated efforts, the Giving Back Program and School Garden Program will continue to drive change and encourage both personal and communal growth as we enter 2025. Indeed, this progress is a testament to our commitment to give back - as a company focused on gardening for the common good. 

With encouraging results and new opportunities on the horizon, we look forward to partnering with more influential organizations and offering support to more community initiatives. In 2025, we will strive to elevate our work with key community partners even more and strengthen our commitment to corporate social responsibility.