In 2009, Project EverGreen started an industry fund-raising program, Buck It Up for Military Families, to support GreenCare for Troops. The plan is to use 60 percent of the funds collected for scholarships to help military families interested in pursuing careers in the Green Industry. The remainder will be used to defray administration costs of the program. The Buck It Up for Military Families program simply asked industry-employed professionals to donate $1 to support the program.

But PBI/Gordon has done more than that. Mark Miller, vice president of professional product sales for PBI/Gordon and a member of the board of directors of Project EverGreen, challenged PBI/Gordon employee-owners to raise some money for the program.

"It was decided to have a contest. We divided into teams and gave each team a collection jar," Miller said.

The team that collected the most coins would win a prize. The catch was that another team could put paper money in your jar and cancel all the points you'd accumulated with your coins. "It was also a great morale booster for our employees," Miller said. "There was so much sabotage going on — $1 bill wrapped around $20 bills, and one team even put over $600 in coins in its jar."

The best part, according to Miller, was the response in support of the program. A total of $2,000 — considerably more than one buck per person — was raised for Buck It Up for Military Families, which the company has agreed to match. In addition, online donations totaled more than $1,000.

"I'm proud to be associated with PBI/Gordon and its employee-owners," Miller said. "Anyone can volunteer to be part of this program. Landscape and lawn care volunteers are greatly needed to help military families in their areas."

Miller encourages everyone to make a donation online at www.projectEverGreen.com or contact Project EverGreen directly at 877.758.4835.