MARION, IOWA (November 13, 2020) — Trees Forever, a local non-profit organization, has announced a citizen campaign to support replanting the trees devastated by the August derecho. The Planting Hope campaign will plan for the purchase and repopulation of trees in communities including Cedar Rapids, Marion, Hiawatha, Marshalltown, and rural areas in the derecho's path. The organization also will mobilize and train volunteers to plant and care for trees with work beginning in Spring 2021.
"The heartfelt stories about the loss of trees in people's yards, farms, in their neighborhoods and favorite parks have been a testament to the importance of trees in defining our communities," shares Shannon Ramsay, Founder and CEO of Trees Forever. "We are asking individuals to become members of Trees Forever and help fund the replanting efforts in our neighborhoods. Recovery will take not months, but decades, and we are asking citizens to give the gift of trees to the next generation of Iowans."
The campaign launches today with radio and social-media channels driving to a giving page at JoinTreeHuggers.org. Each gift includes membership in Trees Forever and a Tree Hugger sticker. Individuals also can volunteer and join the army of workers needed to prepare soil, plant, and water new trees.
Ramsay continues, "We encourage everyone to become a Tree Hugger and help bring this beauty and environmental gift to all our neighborhoods and communities."
Trees Forever is a nonprofit organization nationally headquartered in Marion, Iowa. The organization is dedicated to planting trees, encouraging volunteer and youth involvement and environmental stewardship. For more information, visit www.treesforever.org or call 319-373-0650.
Learn more at www.treesforever.org.
