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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A Leadership Wilkes Barre project will teach children how to plant a garden, with the hope that the idea will grow into the future.</p><p>The project committee will assist Head Start children in learning how to plant and care for gardens.</p><p>The &#8220;Operation Let&#8217;s Grow&#8221; team will visit classrooms at Wilkes-Barre Head Start, 23 Beekman St., to assist the children in planting vegetable, flower and herb starter gardens.</p><p>The children&#8217;s starter gardens will be transplanted into a variety of outdoor raised-bed gardens and benches to be constructed by members of the Operation Let&#8217;s Grow Team at the Beekman Street location.</p><p>Jackie Vass, a member of the committee, said Operation Let&#8217;s Grow team members are pleased to be able to show their support and respect for these much-needed programs that encourage and empower young children to develop agricultural skills through an interactive garden.</p><p>&#8220;Operation Let&#8217;s Grow Team Members are excited about developing a pathway to better health and nutrition for the Luzerne County Head Start by having an array of gardens outside their door,&#8221; Vass said.</p><p>The garden will help the Head Start teachers demonstrate the concept of garden-to-table living. In addition to gaining hands-on garden experience, the children will learn the importance of nutritional value through curriculum incorporated by Head Start throughout the academic year.</p><p>&#8220;This project has not only allowed myself, but all of my team members to be able to help the children of Head Start learn the values of planting and maintaining a garden while having fun during the process,&#8221; said committee member Kady Schwartz.</p><p>The garden will be unveiled to family and friends of Head Start on April 22 in celebration of Earth Day (rain date April 29). The public is invited to support the initiative through in-kind donations or monetary contributions and by spreading awareness in the community.</p><p>Vass and Schwartz said the opportunities that these centers are providing to young children and their families are laying the foundation for successful futures for all children, and Operation Let&#8217;s Grow Team members are grateful to have the chance to demonstrate our appreciation in this way.</p><p>Members of the Let&#8217;s Grow Committee and their employers are: Bill Gabriel, Navient, Wilkes-Barre; John Henry, Martz Group, Wilkes-Barre; Andrew McCabe, Benchmark-McCabe Mortgage Group, Shavertown; Kady Schwartz, Fortune Fabrics, Swoyersville; Avinash Sikenpore, Intermetro Industries, Wilkes-Barre; Jackie Vass, Tobyhanna Army Depot, Tobyhanna; Katherine Vlachos, Step by Step Inc., Wilkes-Barre; Jill Worthington, Benco Dental Supply Company, Pittston.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>HOW TO HELP</strong></p><p>For more information on donations and how someone can help support the garden project, visit:</p><p>&#8226; The program Facebook page &#8212; <a href="http://tlgets.me/kco" target="_blank">http://tlgets.me/kco</a></p><p>&#8226; Donate at MyRegistry &#8212; <a href="http://tlgets.me/kcp" target="_blank">http://tlgets.me/kcp</a><a href="https://www.myregistry.com/public/operation-lets-grow" target="_blank"></a></p><p>&#8226; Donate at MyEvent &#8212; <a href="http://tlgets.me/kcq" target="_blank">http://tlgets.me/kcq</a><a href="https://myevent.com/OperationLetsGrow" target="_blank"></a></p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Leadership Wilkes-Barre ‘Let’s Grow’ team seeks to build Head Start garden