For many of the spouses left behind after a deployment, the dreaded yard care looms as one of the top items on the worry list. If you've ever found yourself in the awkward position of relying on friends and neighbors for assistance or if your family has been unable to pay for professional services, GreenCare for Troops just might be the answer.
Do you happen to love cutting the grass and tending to the yard but hate winter snow chores? There’s help through SnowCare for Troops.
What are GreenCare and SnowCare for Troops?
GreenCare for Troops
GreenCare for Troops, with sponsorship from national and local companies, is a nationwide program that matches lawn and landscape providers and individual volunteers to active duty personnel who are deployed in order to provide free yard care. All military branches are eligible, but the program is dedicated to servicemembers of the rank E-6 and below.
If your servicemember has an upcoming departure, please take advantage of our resource, Deployment Support for Your Military Family.
Here are more qualifications for GreenCare for Troops registration:
- One residence per military member who lives at the location.
- Lot size must be less than one acre.
- Deployment orders or a letter from command verifying deployment are required.
- Recipients cannot register more than four weeks in advance of deployment.
Services offered include:
- Mowing and trimming shrubs, bushes, and hedges
- Aeration
- Fertilizing and weed control
- Perimeter pest control, mosquito and fire ant control
- Spring and fall clean up
Although many of the volunteers provide the majority of these services, it is up to their organization to decide the exact offerings.
Do you need a free Spring Home Maintenance Check List to help you refresh for the warm season?
After 15 years, GreenCare for Troops has assisted more than 11,000 registered military families. They’ve accessed an estimated $8 million in donated lawn care and landscape services from 6,000 green industry professionals. GreenCare for Troops is supported by lead sponsor Nufarm and partners Toro, SiteOne Landscape Supply, and Arborjet/Ecologel.
Here’s a little more help with our Fall Home Maintenance Checklist.
SnowCare for Troops
If you love spring and summer yard work and enjoy the effort to beautify your home but hate shoveling, SnowCare for Troops might ease this deployment burden. Like GreenCare (and its registration process), SnowCare for Troops relies on volunteers from the snow removal industry and has partnered with BOSS Snowplow to match deployed military members with winter weather removal professionals.
The program recently celebrated its 11th year of helping military families clear their driveways and sidewalks of snow and ice.
Always be prepared with a Winter Home Maintenance Checklist.
Project Evergreen
GreenCare for Troops and SnowCare for Troops are programs managed by the nonprofit group Project Evergreen, whose mission statement reads, “Bringing people together to make a difference in how our yards, parks, and communities create a greener, healthier, cooler Earth.”
Project Evergreen’s revitalization projects upgrade parks, schools, and public green spaces. They describe their organization as committed to preserving and enhancing green spaces in our communities where we live, work, and play. Their designs are found nationwide, including Liberty Island, New York, the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and several North Carolina, Texas, and Ohio cities.
To learn more about how you can volunteer to help deployed troops or read about those who already volunteer their time, check out the inspiring stories at their site linked above.
For me, GreenCare for Troops would have been a huge relief and a great asset for managing lengthy deployments. Have you been the beneficiary of either GreenCare or SnowCare for Troops? We'd love to hear about it!
