“The Rose Garden has never looked this beautiful,” is the comment given by many who toured the garden this summer. During these difficult times the Richmond Rose Garden has proven to be a valuable asset to the community by providing a beautiful open space to enjoy roses and flowers, socially distance with friends, and take solace in a peaceful place for quiet reflection.
In the interest of safety for all, we chose to forego our annual 1stBLOOM&GLOW fundraising event. Fortunately, your past contributions allowed us to still maintain the garden by improving our soil with compost and using a new fertilizing regiment.
As a reminder, the Rose Garden is an independent organization that relies solely upon individual contributions and grants. It is not part of the Parks Department and receives no funds from the City of Richmond. The Garden is maintained and led by a group of volunteers who log over 2000 hours a year. The Rose Garden Board receives no financial compensation. Your contributions go directly toward the payment of maintenance and improvement expenses for the Garden.
As you can imagine, maintaining a Garden of over 1100 roses requires a significant financial investment! About 10% of the rose plants need to be replaced each year. In addition, the roses require fertilizer, mulch, insect and disease control, and a professionally maintained irrigation system. Contractors are also hired for heavy work such as tree and shrub maintenance, painting, and repairs.
Please join us in preserving this treasure! This year, your gift can do even more. We are participating in the Wayne County Foundation’s Challenge Match program. This means that all eligible donations received during the match period of November 1st until November 9th will be matched after we reach our threshold of $5,000, up to $10,000 with a maximum of $1,000 per gift.
There are many ways to give. You can donate online at https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/WCF or mail a check to the Wayne County Foundation c/o The Richmond Rose Garden Fund at 33 South 7th Street Richmond, IN 47374.
Your support is greatly appreciated! We could not continue our work without your generosity.
Beth Van Der Burgt, Board President
Board Officers: Beth Van Der Burgt, President – Kelly VanVleet, Vice President – Lisa Burkhardt, Secretary – Jack Buckland, Treasurer
Board Members: Elaine Tiernan, Ann Herrman, Kay Koger, Dick Benner, Carvin Rinehart, Mary Bogue, Ann White
Lifetime Members: Mike Devine, Kathy Lucid
