The Mission of Rotary Botanical Gardens

Throughout all of our years of existence (21) it is important to never lose sight of what our original mission has always been. Our mission is "to promote horticultural education and appreciation for everyone." Those eight words carry a lot of weight and I think the vast majority of our visitors and perhaps supporters aren't aware of the wording of that mission. It's frustrating to hear criticism regarding our continuing efforts to become financially stable with our building rentals, plant sales, membership drives, etc. All of these avenues are meant to support the very important efforts regarding education and our mission statement. Yes, we are a beautiful garden that people come to visit and enjoy but why do we truly exist? As a non-profit organization in a tough economic climate, we are essentially competing with other non-profits, charities and causes that also have a purpose, important community value and certainly mission statements that are as noble as our own. After so many years of existence, some financially better than others, we find that we have to continually establish our value and purpose to visitors and potential supporters. Our fundraisers are meant to simply help perpetuate our ability to better pursue our mission and provide a venue for effective horticultural education, appreciation and enjoyment. There is a cost involved with this process. Every visitor to Rotary Botanical Gardens gets something different out of their time in the gardens. Perhaps it's just a relief from everyday stress and a quiet respite. Maybe a visitor is at the gardens for an event (like our plant sale from 9am-5pm daily thru Sept. 18), a class, light lunch or photo opportunity. Perhaps the visitor is here on a bus tour, part of an art or photography class or doing community service. Maybe a visitor is there to see new plants, combinations or other specific gardening trends or ideas. Maybe they are just there to see what we are all about. We are lucky to have such a strong contingent of volunteers and supporters, however, our goal is to continually promote what we are and what we do to a wider and wider audience. Financial support is a big piece of the puzzle as we don't want to take any steps backwards and risk stagnation. Regardless, we'll continue to let everyone know what our mission is and how important they are to our existence and improvement.