Get To Know Laughing Planet Cafe

Laughing Planet is donating $1 for every kids smoothie sold to trees + community

When Laughing Planet CEO Franz Spielvogel decided to partner with a local organization, he quickly thought of Friends of Trees. For an entire year, Laughing Planet are donating $1 for every kids smoothie sold in the Portland region to Friends of Trees.

“Keeping it local was a big impetus for this partnership. We asked ourselves: Who’s local? Who does good things?” Franz says. “How could you not love Friends of Trees?”

Having first volunteered for us over 20 years ago, and having planted five trees in his own yard, he knows first hand the impact that trees can have on a community. He even volunteered as a summer inspector.

“I’ve turned a little bit into a tree nut,” Franz says. “When you walk down a street without trees, it’s shocking. It can sound a bit cheesy on a bumper sticker, but trees are the answer.”

Because Friends of Trees’ mission aligns with the values of Laughing Planet, Franz is excited that the partnership can expose more people to the benefits of planting trees, especially young people, which is why kids’ smoothies are at the center of the partnership.

“I witnessed a mother and daughter in the cafe talking about the importance of trees. When you teach the kids while they’re young, they’ll care about trees for life.”

“Planting trees is super awesome!” Franz says. “I remember all the trees I’ve planted and I love to go back to see how they’re doing.”

Get To Know ChipDrop

Friends of Trees staff with ChipDrop Swag

You know that we’re big fans of mulch at Friends of Trees, and we use a lot of it. That’s why we are so excited about our partnership with ChipDrop, an app that matches people who want free wood chip mulch with arborists and tree companies who are trying to get rid of it. Instead of taking wood chips to the landfill, arborists can drop them off right at your garden.

“We wanted to get involved with organizations that are on the same page,” says ChipDrop Co-Founder Andrea Kappa. “Friends of Trees is already in the business of educating people about the benefits of mulch, amending your soil, and growing what you want to grow.”

ChipDrop sponsored four Friends of Trees plantings this year. We picked plantings in neighborhoods that already had ChipDrop activity, so it was an opportunity to educate people about wood chip mulch that could be available to them.

“There are plenty of people who are on the fence about it or don’t understand it,” says ChipDrop Co-Founder Bryan Kappa. “Partnering on plantings is a great way to help people understand the benefits.”

Volunteer scooping mulch

Think of what you can do with a truckload of mulch. “You can spread more than just a thin layer, and it will really amend your soil,” Bryan says. “So many people get frustrated that they can’t grow what they want to grow, and this is a way to do that.”

Beyond that, ChipDrop keeps material local and out of the landfill. If your neighbor has a tree taken down, that could become your wood chip mulch.

Of course, mulch is very important for newly planted urban trees. It reduces evaporation, delivers organic nutrients, and helps prevent the growth of weeds.

“Urban canopy is so important,” Andrea says. “Friends of Trees is taking huge leaps towards that. We’re super grateful for Friends of Trees as our first sponsorship. You’re such great supporters of what we do, and we foresee the partnership continuing into the future.”

Thank you for celebrating 30 years of trees + community with us!

We had such a wonderful time celebrating 30 years of trees + community with so many amazing friends and partners at our October 2nd party! We can’t express how much gratitude we have for your continued support, we are truly moved by the way you showed up to celebrate this milestone with us. Thank you!

A special shout out to our event sponsors Portland General ElectricPort of PortlandDaimler Trucks North AmericaDossierNew Seasons MarketBartlett Tree Experts – Clackamas, ORColumbia BankJ. Frank Schmidt & Son Co.Wells Fargo AdvisorsGather ResaleZach Putnam ProductionsRigert Shade Trees and in-kind donors 2 Towns CiderhouseMahonia Vineyard and Breakside Brewery.

Enjoy the below photos from the event, with even more here.

Thank you again to everyone — party guests, volunteers, donors, partners — who help us, in so many ways, celebrate 30 years of planting trees + growing community – we can’t do it without you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrate 30 years of trees + community with us!

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF TREES + COMMUNITY
a fundraiser for Friends of Trees

Wednesday, October 2
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
after-party 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. with live music from the Bayou Boyz

Village Ballroom
704 NE Dekum St, Portland, OR 97211
Reception style | Hosted food & drinks | Door prizes

Tickets: $100 each, includes:

  • Beer, wine, cider, non-alcoholic beverages
  • Dinner buffet includes vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options
  • After-party 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. with live music from the Bayou Boyz
  • Please note that flights of stairs are required to access this venue

Questions? Please contact Kathy Armstrong at (503)467-2512 or via email.

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

 

Thank you to our sponsors!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get to know our partner: Portland General Electric

PGE CEO Maria Pope at FOT’s April planting event in Tualatin.

PGE has supported Friends of Trees since our beginning, contributing time and funding toward our shared goals of greening our region and building community.

As Friends of Trees has grown, PGE’s support has grown. PGE has sponsored hundreds of tree planting events over the past three decades, and its employees have donated hundreds of volunteer hours. And in honor of 30 years of trees + community PGE has announced a special gift that will help Friends of Trees reach the milestone of one million trees planted since our inception.

“To celebrate Friends of Trees’ significant impact on our beautiful state, we’re investing $100,000 and volunteer power, over the next five years, coming together with the community and our customers to reduce carbon, strengthen neighborhoods and improve our environment.” -Kregg Arntson, PGE’s director of Corporate Social Responsibility

In addition to donating time and money, PGE partners with Friends of Trees to plant the right type of tree in the right place. This helps prevent tree-related power outages, contributing to safe, reliable power for customers.

Friends of Trees cannot plant 50,000+ trees and native shrubs every year without the support of sponsors like PGE. Their support, since our founding, has been key in our ability to plant 800,000 trees and native shrubs to date with tens of thousands of volunteers. We are just thrilled that PGE’s $100,000 pledge will help us get to the incredible milestone of one million trees planted.

 

This story is from the Summer 2019 edition of our e-news, Treemail; check out the rest of Treemail here.