Hillel won the Learning Garden by applying to the “Learning Garden Grant” contest in spring of 2016. The contest offered elementary schools in the Tops Friendly Markets service area the chance to win a Learning Garden installation for their school.
“Here at Dole, we understand the importance of teaching children the benefits of incorporating fruits and vegetables into their diet, whether they are enjoying fresh produce from their learning garden, or a healthy Dole snack,” said Larry White, Vice President - Sales, Dole Packaged Foods. “By partnering with Captain Planet Foundation and Tops Friendly Markets, we are helping more students learn about and develop healthy habits.”
“Anything can be taught in the context of the garden, and hands-on learning supports student understanding of natural systems, food origins, and healthy eating,” explained Leesa Carter, Executive Director of Captain Planet Foundation. “Captain Planet Foundation is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of environmental stewards, and ensuring they are armed with an understanding of the natural world in which they live. We are thrilled to be working with Tops Friendly Markets and Dole to provide Hillel with a CPF Learning Garden!
"We are thrilled to provide this Learning Garden to Hillel Community Day School “said Kathy Romanowski, Public & Media Relations Specialist, Tops Friendly Markets. "Giving back to the neighborhoods we serve is incredibly important to us, and we are always looking for ways to improve the quality of the life for children through education around nutrition and healthy living.
“Hillel Community Day School is honored to receive the “Learning Garden Grant” from the Captain Planet Foundation,” stated Head of School Tracie Glazer, “Without grants like this we would not be able to provide extended learning opportunities that engage students beyond the classroom walls and expose them to a healthier life style.” She added, “We are also very thankful to a private donor and for grants we received from The Ames Amzalak Memorial Trust which helped fund this wonderful learning garden.”
About Hillel Community Day School
Hillel Community Day School partners with families to promote critical thinking, academic excellence and a love of learning for each child. In service to the entire Jewish community, we inspire a meaningful connection to Jewish customs, values and Israel.
As a community day school, Hillel Community Day School serves the Rochester area as a school for both general and Judaic studies, with children coming from all segments of the Jewish community as we make every practical effort to accommodate individual needs of each child. We strive to develop a well-balanced Jewish individual, knowledgeable in and committed to the principles of Jewish living and those in our democratic society. We endeavor to preserve and enhance our people, our religion and our heritage through knowledge of nurturing-based experience.
About Dole Packaged Foods
Dole Packaged Foods LLC, a subsidiary of Dole International Holdings, is a leader in growing, sourcing, distributing and marketing fruit, vegetables and healthy snacks throughout the world. Dole markets a full line of innovative packaged, frozen and dried fruit. The company focuses on four pillars of sustainability in all of its operations: water management, carbon footprint, soil conservation and packaging. For more information please visit www.dole.com or www.doleintlcsr.com.
About Tops Markets
Tops Markets, LLC, is headquartered in Williamsville, NY and operates 173 full-service supermarkets with five additional by franchisees under the Tops banner. Tops employs more than 15,000 associates and is a leading full-service grocery retailer in New York, northern Pennsylvania, western Vermont, and north central Massachusetts. For more information about Tops Markets, visit the company's website at www.topsmarkets.com.
About Captain Planet Foundation (CPF)
Based on the critically-acclaimed animated series Captain Planet and the Planeteers, CPF was co-founded in 1991 by media mogul Ted Turner and producer Barbara Pyle. Since then, the Captain Planet Foundation has played a critical role in helping to ensure that the next generation of business leaders and policy makers are environmentally literate citizens who leverage technology and information to manage and protect the air, land, and water upon which all life depends.
CPF is a grant-making foundation that has funded over 2,000 hands-on environmental education projects with schools and non-profits that serve children in all 50 U.S. states and in 23 countries internationally. More than 1.2 million children have directly participated in and benefited from these educational projects. In addition to its Small Grants Program, the Captain Planet Foundation also operates the following programs: Project Learning Garden, the Leadership Center, SAGES, Planeteer Clubs, and many other science education initiatives that exploit the intersections between technology, innovation, the environment and personal action. For more information: www.captainplanetfoundation.org.
