Grammy Award-winning artist Cee-Lo Green and his sister Shedonna Alexander have launched their new organization, Green Foundation, a non-profit organization with a mission to help make “green education” easier and accessible to students in underserved school districts. The GreenHouse Foundation will educate, inspire and influence children to become responsible stewards of their environment, communities and future.
Officially launching on August 17th in Atlanta, GA, this sibling team will dedicate their first “teaching GreenHouse” in memory of their late mother Sheila J. Callaway Tyler. The dedication will take place on the campus of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, a “GreenHouse School Partner”, where CeeLo attended elementary school.
“The Green Garden program will use outdoor gardening as an innovative tool to teach math and science. It will allow students to experience a new approach to “green education,” states co-founder Shedonna Alexander. “We are committed to the mission to empower children with the knowledge, attitude and desire to positively influence their futures, their communities and the long-term sustainability of their planet.”
The University of Georgia’s Cooperative Extension service for Atlanta’s Fulton County is playing a key role in the GreenHouse Foundation’s education and community outreach. UGA Cooperative Extension extends lifelong learning to the people of Georgia through unbiased, research-based education in agriculture, the environment, communities, youth and families. As part of the GreenHouse School Partnership and Green Garden Education Program, they are providing curriculum support through their agricultural and family sciences programs.
“Through the Green Garden Education Program, the GreenHouse Foundation is supporting schools with the tools, curriculum, and resources necessary to create and maintain an outdoor ‘teaching garden’. With the garden as the primary focus, children will learn the fundamentals of gardening along with the health and environmental benefits of growing their own produce. Children will also learn how to start and manage their own school farmers market,” explains co-founder CeeLo Green. “The hands of our children will help feed those in need, like the homeless or elderly who live in ‘grocery deserts’ with no access to fresh produce.”
