GrassRoots Turf Spreads the Good Word on GreenCare for Troops

GrassRoots Turf started serving the metropolitan Atlanta area back in 2002 with fertilizer and weed control. By the time CEO Josh Wise founded the company at the age of 22, he had already spent eight years of his life cutting lawns professionally. “I was 14 when I first started and my dad drove me around,” he recalls.

“At the time we opened GrassRoots, I really saw a need for weed control that no one in the area was doing particularly well,” he adds.

Today, after launching a franchise effort in 2019, GrassRoots Turf has extended its brand reach as far west as Baton Rouge to the west, and throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and North Carolina in addition to its Georgia home base.

Along the way, he also recognized an opportunity to give back to the people of the region when he came across a GreenCare for Troops advertisement in a magazine in the early 2010s and immediately reached out.

“I thought it was a really outstanding idea,” says Wise. “I appreciated what they were doing to take care of the families of soldiers deployed overseas, to help take care of things at home and allow professionals like us to help.

“I am a big supporter of the armed forces,” he adds. “We get to have what we have because of what they do and the sacrifice they make.”

To reinforce that commitment, Wise recently enrolled every GrassRoots Turf franchise in the GreenCare for Troops program. It had been a corporate office program up until recently but extending it to franchises significantly increased the potential to reach military families across the Southeast.

“For example, in Georgia, we have branches in Columbus and Macon which are both close to significant military activity,” says Wise. Franchises will be 100 percent compensated for services rendered to any military family they serve.

Wise is also out spreading the word about the program and trying to recruit families he encounters in the community.

“I was at a festival recently and was explaining GreenCare for Troops to some veterans and military families there,” he says. “I love helping to promote the program and trying to steer more companies and individuals to volunteer.”

Why are Green Spaces Important to Military Families?

Parks, lawns, landscapes and maintained green spaces help to mitigate temperature increases in communities and significantly reduce energy use and cooling costs. Project EverGreen’s initiatives – GreenCare for Troops and GreenCare for Communities – have made a significant impact.

Through its nationwide base of professional volunteers, Project EverGreen has connected people, plants and their communities to maximize the health of grass, plants and trees, which in turn sequesters carbon and cleans the air. Both initiatives support healthy green spaces in neighborhoods and cities, enabling maintained green spaces to function as the lungs of the city and offsetting the negative effects of a warming environment.

A single group or individual cannot transform lawns, landscapes and parks but Project EverGreen’s coalition of businesses and individuals helps maintain green spaces so they can thrive.

Become A Volunteer Today

Are you ready to step up for a military family? Register today

The Title Sponsor of the GreenCare for Troops program Title Sponsor is Nufarm. SnowCare for Troops program in BOSS Snowplow. Platinum Partners include Toro and SiteOne Landscape Supply. The Gold Partners are AMGUARD Environmental Sciences and Arborjet/Ecologel.

Affiliate Partners include the Connecticut Grounds Keepers Association and the Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association.

GreenCare for Troops is endorsed by the National Association of Landscape Professionals