The Professional Landcare Network has begun planning for the second annual PLANET Day of Service to be held on Earth Day, April 22, 2010. This program is a grassroots effort and opportunity for PLANET members, state associations, supplier members, and other PLANET partners to come together across the country for a day of giving back to their communities through volunteer landscape, lawn care, or tree care projects.
This annual program kicked off on April 22, 2009, with more than 280 projects and approximately 2,000 volunteers in a total of 43 states and Canada. PLANET is looking to increase those numbers this coming year. In a survey completed after the event, more than 90 percent of the companies that responded had a good experience participating in Day of Service and cited team building, media coverage, and positive feedback from clients and the community as additional benefits to helping the community.
The first PLANET Day of Service demonstrated the power of partnerships. When multiple companies teamed up or when supplier and lawn and landscape companies worked together to create a large project, they made a much bigger impact than they could have working independently,” said Richard Heller, CLP, CLT, chair of the PLANET Public Relations Committee. “This was particularly true when the sites selected were both in great need, and near and dear to the hearts of community members.”
The Lead Sponsors for the 2009 PLANET Day of Service are Agrium Advanced Technologies; American Profit Recovery; John Deere; Lawns by Yorkshire, Inc; and Shindaiwa.
Interested participants for the 2010 PLANET Day of Service are encouraged to visit and register at planetdayofservice.org for further information and to sign their project up. The Web site contains a planning guide, and tools and resources to help one put together an event that will most benefit their community.