| Dear Horticulture For Healing Loving Friends, |
| Some Quick and Exciting Updates: 1. As mentioned in the February newsletter the See Beautiful Community invited us to reapply for The See Beautiful Grant first half of 2021. We won! Horticulture For Healing was awarded a grant to assemble and deliver 100 Plant Care Is Self Care Kits! 2. See Beautiful recently published my blog post highlighting Horticulture For Healing’s most recent work as a social justice organization. Check it out here! 3. On March 1st our second partner – Aspire Women’s Residential Center – dug deeper into the roots of self care.We explored our self care routines and discussed the similarities between caring for a plant and caring for ourselves.We held our first virtual repot lesson! Participants gathered outside over zoom with their plants, soil and pots and we repotted our Purple Velvet Plants, Rabbit’s Foot Ferns and Bird’s Nest ferns. 4. Recently, our first partner STEPS Inc gave us the opportunity to come full circle with Horticulture For Healing’s mission implementing part of our original garden plan! (photos below) On March 2nd a volunteer and I brought native Florida plants to their old garden space. This is opening up space for H4H to hold outside workshops too, brining us full circle. Since October 2020 H4H has impacted 75 trans/cis women at STEPS Inc. through our in person Plant Care Is Self Care workshops. Up next: 1. On March 25th Pace Collier at Immokalee and Horticulture For Healing will hold our third workshop, applying feminist thinking strategies in our daily lives. We will continue familiarizing ourselves with our plants while prioritizing our wellness and self care routines. 2. Our latest partner Chicago Minds, invited me to share Horticulture For Healing with their community. They are creating flexible and accessible therapy spaces that bridge the needs of mental health providers and the public, while incorporating a communal space to foster safe and open conversations around mental health care. April 27th (5pm eastern time) Chicago Minds is hosting a virtual fundraising event for Horticulture For Healing. This is an opportunity for me to spread the word and share my journey with founding a non profit. Click here for more information and how to attend. Please pass along the link! 3. I am physically moving to Portland Oregon! This means Horticulture For Healing is also moving to Oregon! My intention is to grow this organization nationally with a goal of reaching international levels. This is the first (of many) steps in H4H national expansion.I am currently working on arranging the most sustainable and efficient ways to continue Horticulture For Healing’s impact in Florida. 1. Shipping Plant Care Is Self Care Kits 2. Implementing more virtual workshops 3. Maintaining existing partnerships I will continue to hold Plant Care Is Self Care Virtual workshops in Florida. Interested in Supporting Horticulture For Healing? If you are able to make a donation please click here to be directed to our donation page. All financial contributions go towards the current cost of individual care kits for our current and future partners, at $23.48 per kit. Our Plant Care Is Self Care Kit and Workshops contribute towards dismantling systems that keep so many people oppressed and vulnerable to unnecessary grief and struggle. Plant Care Is Self Care provides empowering self care resources for individuals to perceive their beauty and value while gaining self confidence, autonomy and strength in solidarity. Joanna joanna@horticultureforhealing.org |