Seattle Youth Garden Works
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Seattle Youth Garden Works, a non-profit organization in Seattle, Washington, USA, empowers homeless and under-served youth. SYGW was founded in 1995 by Margaret Hauptman.
The program provides garden-based education and employment at two locations - the Marra Farm, and the U District gardens. The youth go through a comprehensive, 16-week, paid training program that teaches soil chemistry, biology, customer management and marketing. The youth also sell their produce at the Columbia City Farmers market and University District Farmers Market.
In addition to the job-skills training, Garden Works, as it is commonly known in Seattle, also provides job placement assistance and helps finding housing if the student is not already staying at a homeless shelter.
The organization received a 3-year capacity-building grant from the Paul Allen Family Foundation in 2006. In the 2005 Northwest Flower & Garden Show, the SYGW display garden was awarded the Founder's Cup, the American Horticultural Society Environmental Award and the Gold Level Award. 49 youth graduated from its 16-week program in 2005.
