Scott DeLuzio: 00:03 Thanks for tuning in to the Drive On Podcast, where we talk about issues affecting Veterans after they get out of the military. Before we get started, I’d like to ask a favor if you haven’t done so already, please rate and review the show on Apple podcast. If you’ve already done that, thank you. These ratings help the show get discovered so it can reach a wider audience. And while you’re there click the subscribe button so that you get notified of new episodes. As soon as they come out. If you don’t use Apple podcasts, you can visit DriveOnPodcast.com/subscribe to find other ways of subscribing, including our email lists. I’m your host, Scott DeLuzio. And now let’s get on with the show.
Scott DeLuzio: 00:45 Hey everybody. Today, my guest is Kali Turner. Kali is the founder of Heroic Gardens, which is a nonprofit whose mission is to connect Veterans, active duty, and their families with plants and nature. So welcome to the show. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?
Collie Turner: 01:08 Sure. Hi Scott. Thanks for having me on. Heroic Gardens actually started two years ago. We started in 2018 and personally my background relating to even wanting to start this as I am a daughter of a Veteran, the granddaughter of a Veteran, I have grown up around the American Legion auxiliary and the VFW, my entire life, and the flip side of this is that gardening has always been the norm in my family. So, my grandparents were very big gardeners, very sustainable. My mother was a conservationist. So, combining the two, I had no idea, early on that this was something that I would be pursuing, but as time went on, it just made so much sense
Collie Turner: 02:01 from a healing perspective. So thinking about what I’m doing in the garden, things I’m contemplating the Headspace that I’m clearing, and it wasn’t really until I was taking care of my grandmother and I had realized that she had never applied for my grandfather’s death benefits. So, I went through that whole process. It took about three years but I did meet somebody in my local, VA who actually helped me shepherd it through. And what was interesting about her is that wasn’t her primary job. Her job was actually to find homes for our servicemen and women when they were coming back from overseas. So that’s a huge job, right? She takes time out of her schedule to help me with my grandmother who at the time was about 93, receive these benefits.
Collie Turner: 02:58 And initially when this happened, I wanted to figure out how can I help her? What can I do to give back, anybody can write a check. It was so much deeper of a connection than that. So, I started thinking about when these guys and gals are coming back and they are securing homes, is there an opportunity for us to add on to that and help them with their landscaping? So, it was this simple idea in my mind that I was swirling around for a couple of years. I didn’t know what I was really thinking about because it is so much deeper than that. It does play into what we offer now. I mean, we are a hundred percent volunteer based, but what we offer is that opportunity to come out and help a Veteran in need with the restoration of the property. And that helps with teaching them about sustainability, teaching them about the connection with plants and how it can help reduce stress and anxiety. but it also helps them with beautification and pride. So that’s just one service, but when we started, that was sort of our main function.
Scott DeLuzio: 04:20 Awesome. That’s a great answer. I alway...
