The latest season of “The Voice” just wrapped and Cassadee Pope from Team Blake was named the winner. Cee Lo Green’s team didn’t produce the winner, but Green, who was a former member of Gnarls Barkley, is still a winner. He apparently takes is last name very seriously because he and sister Shedonna Alexander have founded the GreenHouse Foundation.
The GreenHouse Foundation was founded to promote “green” education for disadvantaged children in school districts. The groundbreaking ceremony was held at Green’s alma mater – Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. The students there received a donated greenhouse in which they can grow vegetables. The GreenHouse Foundation, in conjunction with University of Georgia’s Cooperative Extension, also plans to introduce “green education” to the classrooms to teach the children how to respect and protect our planet.
Cee Lo and Shedonna were inspired to give back to the community by their mother, Sheila Callaway Tyler (who died when Cee Lo was 18) and their grandmother, Ruby Callaway Robinson, who attended the ceremony.
Tyler was one of the first female firefighters in Atlanta and the greenhouse was dedicated in her honor. Robinson founded the non-profit organization, Comprehensive Auxillary for Southwest Community on Alcohol and Drug Education (CASCADE). She was also responsible for organizing a 1986 “Just Say No” march that drew over five million participants nationwide.
Of the greenhouse, Alexander said, “Our babies need this garden.” She also said that GreenHouse Foundation is “committed to the mission to empower children with the knowledge, attitude and desire to positively influence their futures, their communities and the long-term sustainability of their planet.”
The organization will build more outdoor green gardens on school campuses. But, the GreenHouse Foundation has bigger plans for the future. It plans to launch Atlanta Green Day, the Greenhouse Community Gardens Program, Green Summer scholarship programs, and the Green Collar Career Development Program.