Planting trees for tomorrow

WeLoveU Foundation, Latinos at Amazon ERG and officials came together for Mom’s Garden Project aimed at planting one million trees by 2026

In the current day and age, planet Earth needs to have pure, unpolluted, carbon-free air.

On Sunday, May 7, about 150 International WeLoveU Foundation and Latinos at Amazon ERG volunteers came together for a nostalgic event to accomplish this goal.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WELOVEUFOUNDATION

 

For a second year, the WeLoveU Foundation partnered with Amazon’s ERG, Latinos at Amazon. The foundation organized a tree planting and beautification event at Flagtown Park in Hillsborough for the teams to participate. The tree planting activity is part of WeLoveU Mom’s Garden Project, which aims to plant one million trees by 2026 to help achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and create a sustainable world to keep the earth green.

In 2023, WeLoveU’s goal is to plant 155,000 trees worldwide, equivalent to absorbing 50,000 pounds of carbon dioxide yearly. To advance this mission, volunteers split into teams to tackle various tasks such as tree planting, flower planting, street cleaning, and painting.

During the event, Jessica LoGreco, WeLoveU’s program manager, and Ben Wang, Amazon’s senior operations manager, were asked by a news network, “What was the goal for the event? How many occasions have WeLoveU held events like this? Why did Amazon partner with WeLoveU for this?”

They responded that WeLoveU holds about 100 events a year, that they have worked together before, and that it is crucial to work together as partners to make the event possible for the community and make an impact.

During the Mom’s Garden Project event, volunteers sanded down the monkey bars on the playground. Furthermore, kids of all ages were helping paint swing sets, planting trees, and laying or raking mulch.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WELOVEUFOUNDATION

 

Other volunteers worked hard hand-in-hand and painted the benches and other parts of the playground in bright colors.

Local and state officials, including Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D-16), Hillsborough Mayor Shawn Lipani, and Somerset County Commissioner Paul Drake, participated in the event by planting trees.

Drake said, “Planting a tree is the most optimistic thing you can do because you are planting for the future. Besides environmental benefits, it is a promise of tomorrow.”

Zwicker said, “I had to come to the event though I did not know what WeLoveU was.” After the event, he stated would love to work with WeLoveU.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WELOVEUFOUNDATION

During the event, WeLoveU received proclamations and a citation. Also, Latinos at Amazon donated $10,000 in support of the WeLoveU Foundation.