Public to Choose Winners of 'Green Spaces Make Great Places' Grant Program

It’s down to the final four in The Toro Company’s “Green Spaces Make Great Places” grant program, and now it’s up to the public to choose the winners. The all-new community grant program will award $15,000 to communities and non-profits to beautify and maintain public green spaces across the U.S.

The “Green Spaces Make Great Places” finalists include:

• Project EverGreen (Cleveland, OH), which works to preserve and enhance yards, parks and other green spaces, would use the funding to help expand GreenCare for Communities renovation programs, and GreenCare and SnowCare for Troops initiatives supporting military families with yard work and snow removal.
• Lincolnshire-Prairie View School District 103 (Lincolnshire, IL), located 40 miles north of Chicago, would use the grant to renovate the landscape and hardscape surrounding the playground at Laura B. Sprague elementary school, which is badly deteriorated.
• Tree Trust (Plymouth, MN) provides a variety of community forestry and employment training programs for disadvantaged youth. With the funding, Tree Trust plans to hold community tree planting events and organize environmental improvement projects.
• VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads (Norfolk, VA), which is a regional nonprofit resource and training center, would use the funds to engage area youth in environmental projects as part of its Global Youth Service Day.

Starting today through December 14, the public can vote and help determine which organization receives the largest grant to support their program. The organization with the most votes via the Facebook contest at www.facebook.com/toro.yard (click on the contest icon) will receive $7,000; the program with the second most votes will receive $4,000; and the third- and fourth-place winners will each receive $2,000.

“We created this grant program to give back to the community and carry on our tradition of beautifying green spaces around the country,” said Judson McNeil of the Toro Giving Program. “Every organization deserves to win, and we’re thrilled to help in some way with their effort.”

To learn more about each of the organizations, the public can view their videos at www.facebook.com/toro.yard under the contest icon. Please visit the site to see the complete terms of participation and voting guidelines.