Green Alliance Celebrates Green Families Club's 2nd Birthday with Celebration and Farmer's Market August 27

By Katie Seraikas

This summer the Green Alliance is celebrating the 2nd birthday of the Green Alliance Green Families Club. On Wednesday, August 27th from 4 – 7 p.m. the Green Alliance will be hosting a Green Families Celebration and Farmer’s Market. The bash is free and open to the public.

The Green Families Club (GFC) was created in July 2012 in response to market research which revealed the GA’s membership was largely made up of families with young children. The GFC set out with the goal to inspire a young generation of environmentalists, or “future environmentalists” (as the GFC t-shirts proudly boast). The GA now has over 4,000 regular members, and nearly 500 GFC members, with over 115 local business partners.

“After looking more closely at who our members were, we realized that many of them were moms and dads - people who had a very real vested interest in safer, greener, more local products and services,” said GA Director Sarah Brown. “We realized pretty quickly that bringing families together – helping them learn from one another – would be a great way to help bring more attention to the green-certified businesses in the Green Alliance.”

Reflecting this initiative are the numerous business partners of the GA whose trade is very family-focused. From Green Earth Baby Works, to Mary’s Dogs, to Acorn School and Brixham Montessori, and even to medical services such as Great Works Chiropractic and Newmarket Dental, it is clear that many green businesses already function for the good of the family.

The GFC merges this relationship with fun, educational events geared specifically towards families, and great discounts at 115 local businesses. It proves that even with a family and budget concerns, a family can still afford to make green-minded decisions that ensure the health and safety of both their family and the environment. Undoubtedly, a community has formed within the green families realm, with connections family-to-family and family-to-business. The GA’s annual summer party gives a great opportunity for this community to come together in celebration.

On August 27th, GA businesses will have booths with family-friendly, hands-on activities and goodies for kids to enjoy. Kids can design a t-shirt, with the winner’s design being printed as a t-shirt, in a contest hosted by Get it Going! Coca-Cola will be offering free samples and a demonstration on their extensive recycling program. In addition, Lenka Flaherty Photography will be shooting fun family portraits for free, NHPTV will be giving away tickets to upcoming events, and Yankee Thermal Imaging will be measuring “Who’s Coolest?” with a thermal-imaging thermometer – explaining thermal energy to the kids in the process! Several other GA Business Partners will be represented at booths providing giveaways, educational activities, and more.

In the weeks leading up to the Green Families Celebration and Farmer’s Market, the Green Alliance is hoping to hear from local youths about what they’ve done this summer to help their family go green. The GA is hosting a children’s essay contest for ages 12-and-under, with children writing about activities they did this summer that helped improve the quality of the local (or beyond) environment. All entrants will receive generous gift bags with tickets to Isles of Shoals Steamship Company, Gundalow Company, Lindt Chocolate, t-shirts, a Green Families Club Membership, and more! The winner will take home two Loon Mountain Adventure Passes, good towards a day of zip-lining, logjam, bike rentals, and more! Submissions can be emailed to katie@greenalliance.biz, or mailed to the Green Alliance at 75 Congress Street, Suite 304, Portsmouth, NH 03801. All submissions must be received by August 21st, with prizes being available for collection at the August 27th celebration and the winner reading their essay at the celebration.

To enter the essay contest, children simply need to write a minimum half-page essay addressing the following topic: “What activities did your family do this summer to better the environment?”

One of the pillars to GA’s foundation is its deep devotion to community give-back. With this celebration’s focus on families, the GA has invited FootPrints Food Pantry as a beneficiary for this event. FootPrints, a non-profit organization, provides 4-day supplies of food and personal care products once a week to financially disadvantaged families in Kittery, Kittery Point, and Eliot, ME.

Families are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to help out fellow community members in need. At FootPrints booth families can donate food items, cash, or learn about volunteer opportunities. The GA will be rewarding all donors of $20 gifts or more with a GA t-shirt (adult or childrens), a “Greening Your Family” book, a $50 Green Maids Gift Certificate, a $10 Habitat for Humanity ReStore Gift Card, and $10 off a GA Membership. To learn more about FootPrints or to see what food and personal items are in high demand, visit www.footprintsfoodpantry.org/index.html.

The GA invites all families to come discover the community that has become the GFC on August 27th from 4-7 at the Kittery Farmer’s Market, or to enter the kids essay contest (every entry gets a free GFC 1-year membership).

To join the GFC visit www.greenalliance.biz/green-families-club

Check out the Green Alliance Families Club Facebook page and ‘like’ it to keep up with new green family events, promotions, and special announcements!