Stepping Up When It Matters the Most

It’s easy to ride the wave when they are easy, but it’s a different story when the waves get higher and rougher. The COVID-19 crisis has certainly been a rough ride, especially for essential workers working on the frontlines.

One thing Project EverGreen knows is that its GreenCare and SnowCare for Troops volunteers won’t back down from a challenge and are the first to step up in a time of need.

When Project EverGreen expanded its GreenCare for Troops program to provide nurses, paramedics, and other frontline health care professionals with complimentary lawn care and basic landscape services, our volunteers were there.

GreenCare for Troops volunteer Bill Hanley of Independence Lawns in Londonderry, New Hampshire, was one of the first to say yes.

A volunteer since 2016, Hanley had worked with military families before officially registering and has found the experience of joining a broader network of volunteers across the country to be quite rewarding.

“Joining GreenCare for Troops was a natural fit and the expansion to serve healthcare professionals gives me an opportunity to use my talents to serve those who are laying it on the line for us during this crisis,” says Hanley. “It’s what this country was built on. The freedom to build a business and give back.”

Hanley is using his skills to care for the lawn and yard of a local frontline healthcare professional (name withheld by request) serving at a facility in the Boston area that serves post-acute COVID-19 patients and homeless patients with COVID-19 who do not require hospitalization in an acute care facility.

What motivated Hanley to volunteer?

He says Boston, which is about 45 minutes to the south is experiencing a surge of coronavirus cases and that it has become very real to those living in the region.

“It’s not just a New York City or New Jersey thing – it’s right here at home,” says Hanley. “It made me realize that more can be done, even if for a short period of time.”

Hanley says a recent visit to the emergency room for a non-COVID incident opened his eyes to what frontline healthcare professionals are facing and reinforced that something needed to be done.

“The stress and pressure frontline healthcare professionals are feeling is very real and is probably similar to what a deployed military member feels,” says Hanley. “They are stepping up to fight a war that has landed on our shores.”

Hanley says the individual he is helping was excited and appreciative of the offer to care for her lawn and that a picture she shared of her and her coworkers in their personal protective equipment reinforced that he made the right decision.

Hanley, who worked in the tech industry before starting his business in 2008, takes his role as a GreenCare for Troops volunteer seriously and over the years has built relationships with the military families he has taken care of. He has a collection of t-shirts from special operation units and American flags that have flown over forward outposts in combat zones.

“I’m fortunate as a sole proprietor to have the flexibility and capacity to help,” says Hanley. “It has been a blessing to do this and the returns, not in money, but in a feeling of accomplishment and being able to make a difference, has been priceless.”

What is Hanley’s advice to other industry professionals considering become a volunteer?

“Be aware of those in your community, especially right now, that are out there helping all of us,” says Hanley. “Seek them out and do something to help.”

Volunteers who have the capacity to help can visit the GCFT Cares for Our Health Care Heroes page for more information.