Juanita Butler is an 87-year-old lifetime Camden resident who organized a tree planting on her block in 2011. She and her neighbors gathered with volunteers and the Mayor of Camden, Dana L. Redd, to plant 22 trees on her street. Today, the trees are doing wonderfully. Juanita describes how her tree planting transformed her street and catalyzed significant changes in her community.
“These trees bring so much life to our block! Even in the fall, they light up with the most beautiful yellow and red leaves. The planting of our trees brought my neighbors together.” She goes on to explain, “On the planting day we voiced our concerns about an abandoned and dilapidated building on our street. Mayor Redd shook my hand and promised to help.”
This year, the vacant building on Juanita’s street was demolished. Smiling ear to ear, Juanita told the NJ Tree Foundation, “We’re really getting things done!” But Juanita and her neighbors are just getting started. Next, she plans to create a community garden where the old building once stood and plant more trees on the surrounding streets.
In 2014, the NJ Tree Foundation wants to help Juanita continue greening her neighborhood. We want to keep planting trees across the state of New Jersey so that more people can experience the unity, hope, and beauty that come from planting trees in cities like Camden and Newark. We want to foster positive community change, and we need your help to make it a reality.
Please consider making an end-of-year, tax deductible donation to support the NJ Tree Foundation’s community forestry efforts. Your donation will inspire more stories like Juanita’s.
On behalf of all our tree recipients, we thank you sincerely for your support.
