The Giant Co., in partnership with Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, has named 32 recipients of its 2024 Healing the Planet grant program. A total of $108,243 was awarded to support tree planting projects across Pennsylvania.
The grants were awarded to tax-exempt organizations in all of Giant’s operating territories.
Recipients included eight projects in Berks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.
“When it comes to healing our planet, small changes can make a big difference, like making sure we have enough flowering trees in our communities,” said Courtney Hopcraft, community relations and giving manager at The Giant Co., in a statement. “Through the work of this year’s 32 Healing the Planet grantees, more than 3,000 new trees will be planted in the coming months to absorb carbon emissions and improve the quality of the air we breathe.”
The recipients include the following regional organizations:
• Wyomissing (Berks)
• Public Works of the City of Reading (Berks)
• Colonial Treetops, Plymouth Meeting (Montgomery)
• Concord Township, Glen Mills (Delaware)
• French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust, Glenmore (Chester)
• Newtown Square in Bloom, Newtown Square (Delaware)
• Open Land Conservancy, Malvern and Berwyn (Chester)
• Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation, Reading, Mifflinburg and Quakertown
The program was announced in June and applications were accepted through July 1 through the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful website. To be eligible, projects had to be shovel-ready and have all necessary permits already obtained. Applicants also had to provide tree planting costs and direct costs of tree planting. All trees planted must be native to Pennsylvania.
Eligible expenses for the projects include Pennsylvania native trees, equipment, tree signs, tools and supplies. Shipping costs are also eligible.
“Community tree planting promotes shared ownership and stewardship and strengthens social bonds. Native trees provide food and shelter for local wildlife, improve water conservation, provide protection from soil erosion, and have a higher chance of survival with minimal maintenance,” said Heidi Pedicone, program director of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, in a statement. “Beautifying communities also leads to less littering and other illegal behavior, making them a better place for all residents and providing a foundation for community and economic development.”
This is the fourth year Giant has partnered with Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful to award the grants. Since 2021, the Healing the Planet grant program has awarded more than $1.2 million to 142 recipients for projects that connect communities to green spaces, improve or help protect local waterways and water resources, and support projects that address food waste prevention, reduction and recycling, the release said.
