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The GIANT Company, known locally as GIANT and MARTIN\u2019S, in partnership with Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, this week announced the 21 recipients of its 2026 Healing the Planet grant program.<\/p>\n
A total of $100,000 was given to support projects across the company\u2019s operating areas in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
\u201cReal change happens when businesses and community partners come together to make a difference,\u201d said Courtney Hopcraft, manager of community relations and strategic partnerships, The GIANT Company. \u201cAt The GIANT Company, we\u2019re committed to making a positive impact where we live and work. Our Healing the Planet grant program, supported by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, is one of the ways we\u2019re helping create healthier, greener spaces in the neighborhoods we serve.<\/p>\n
The following local organizations are the recipients of a 2026 Healing the Planet grant from GIANT and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful:<\/p>\n
\u2022 North Branch Land Trust, Dallas<\/p>\n
\u2022 Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Pittston<\/p>\n
North Branch Land Trust grant<\/p>\n
Ellen M. Ferretti, executive director at NBLT, said the organization received a $2,000 grant from the Healing the Planet program.<\/p>\n
\u201cNorth Branch Land Trust is incredibly grateful to The Giant Company for their support of our education programs and promoting native species in our special natural spaces,\u201d Ferretti said.<\/p>\n
For its project, Ferretti said the North Branch Land Trust will implement a community native pollinator garden within its Forest Echo Bird Sanctuary in the Dallas Borough.<\/p>\n
Brittany Lynn, NBLT marketing manager, said the garden will feature regionally native plants chosen for their ecological value and seasonal bloom diversity.<\/p>\n
Lynn said volunteers will be able to assist with the garden\u2019s management and stewardship and learn how to tend it appropriately.<\/p>\n
Lynn explained that the garden will serve as a hands-on educational space where visitors can learn about the ecological relationships between plants and wildlife, including the differences between host plants and pollinator plants.<\/p>\n
In addition, the demonstration garden and surrounding trails can be incorporated into a self-guided interpretive experience featuring educational signage that highlights the species present and their ecological benefits.<\/p>\n
Tom Gilbert, President, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, also expressed appreciaton for a grant.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe appreciate the support of the GIANT Company and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful to plant trees at the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail Blakely Borough Trailhead,\u201d said Gilbert. \u201cThis project will make this important trail access greener, cooler and more beautiful for the many people who enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n
About the grant program<\/p>\n
Since 2021, GIANT has partnered with Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful to offer more than $1.4 million in Healing the Planet grants to recipients, empowering projects that connect communities with green spaces, protect and improve local waterways and water resources, prevent, reduce, and recover food waste, and support native plantings and habitat restoration.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunity plantings foster shared responsibility and stewardship, strengthening social ties,\u201d said Heidi Pedicone, director of programs, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. \u201cNative plants provide food and shelter for local wildlife, improve water conservation, provide protection from soil erosion, and can survive with minimal care. Beautifying communities also tends to reduce littering and other illegal behaviors, making it a better place for all residents and providing a foundation for community and economic development. We are proud to support Pennsylvania organizations in planting native species across their communities and are honored to continue our partnership with GIANT.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful has supported community improvement initiatives and encouraged community leadership, responsibility, and respect for the environment since 1990.<\/p>\n
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, a state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful Inc., has more than 35 years of experience in organizing volunteer-driven community improvement events.<\/p>\n