American Heart Association Teaching Garden Construction in Honolulu, Hawaii
Military Partner
Service Partners
PROJECT INFORMATION
Corporate Partner
Bank of America
Military Partner
Hickam Elementary
Service Partners
American Heart Association Teaching Gardens
Bishop Museum
Sierra Club
Hui Ku Maoli Ola
Through our Mission Serve initiative, ServiceNation seeks to establish Veterans Day as a day of service and celebration. By serving in honor of veterans and alongside military families, civilian communities can show their gratitude and respect for the men and women who serve in uniform. By creating a large-scale series of events centered on Veterans Day, ServiceNation is able to bring focus onto civilian-military integration, as well as the importance of volunteerism and community service for our nation.
On and around Veterans Day 2011, ServiceNation: Mission Serve plans to organize eleven civilian-military service projects across the country to provide opportunities for the civilian and military communities to join together in service. In Honolulu, HI, on November 14, ServiceNation is partnering with the US Chamber of Commerce for a joint hiring fair and service project at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
ServiceNation has partnered with the American Heart Association and the Bishop Museum to install a Teaching Garden for and with military school children at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Children and adult volunteers will participate in the construction of garden boxes and the planting of edible plants. The program will also teach children about the values of gardening, healthy eating, and regular exercise. The program, founded in 2010 by Kelly Meyer, has already installed dozens of teaching gardens at schools and parks across the country. In Hawai’i, a special partnership with the Bishop Museum, Sierra Club, and Hui Ku Maoli Ola will enable native Hawaiian flora to become a key focus of the garden. Botanists and cultural practitioners will teach the children about the importance of indigenous plant species and native conservation. Ultimately, the results of this project—a community service effort—will produce fruits and vegetables to be used for school lunch programs, as well as serving as a continuing symbol of the connections between the military community and the local and Hawaiian communities.
