Melwood and BB&T Bank Partner to Revitalize the Learning Garden

UPPER MARLBORO AND NANJEMOY, MD – May 29, 2014 – Melwood is pleased to announce a partnership with the BB&T Bank benefiting the Learning Garden at Melwood’s Recreation Center. The organization is the recipient of a grant from BB&T's Lighthouse Project that will help revitalize the Center’s Learning Garden, a place where children of all abilities receive hands on agricultural training.

In addition to the funding, 12 employees from BB&T Bank volunteered their time and talents at the Melwood Recreation Center in Nanjemoy, Maryland to refurbish the Center’s Learning Garden. The employees primed the garden space, spread mulch and assisted in the overall landscaping. “We are very grateful to BB&T, one of Melwood’s long-standing partners, for supporting Melwood’s mission of advocating and empowering youth and adults of differing abilities to transform their own lives through unique opportunities to work and play in their communities.” said Cari DeSantis, Melwood’s President and CEO. “Their efforts will provide horticultural therapy activities to the more than 600 youth the Recreation Center supports each year.”

The BB&T Lighthouse Project, through their generous donation and volunteer efforts, has prepared the garden just in time for Melwood’s inclusive summer camp, which will open its doors on June 16th. The Learning Garden is a place where children of all abilities learn how to plant, cultivate and harvest a variety of plants, herbs, vegetables and fruit as part of their summer experience at Camp Accomplish.

About Melwood

Melwood is a 501(c)3 organization that advocates for and empowers individuals of differing abilities to transform their own lives through unique opportunities to work and play in the community. The organization provides employment, job training, life skill improvement, supportive and recreational services for more than 1900 people with differing abilities in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region and serves as an international model that has been duplicated around the world. Melwood employs more than 750 people with differing abilities through 38 federal contracts at 43 sites through partnerships with community employers and the AbilityOne Program, providing total facility management, custodial, grounds keeping and recycling services in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. For more information, visit Melwood on Facebook or www.melwood.org.

About the Melwood Recreation Center

The Melwood Recreation Center is a beautiful 108-acre facility located on the Nanjemoy Peninsula in rural Charles County, Md. With a diverse offering of lodge-style cabins, challenge courses, nearly 10 miles of hiking and riding trails, aquatic and equestrian facilities, and a variety of meeting spaces all set in a serene natural environment, it is a versatile location that can accommodate a wide range of events and activities. The Melwood Recreation Center is located approximately one hour south of Washington, D.C., and is a short, 12-mile drive west of La Plata, Md.

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