For 15 years, Carpenter Art Garden has been growing something bigger than a garden.

We’ve been growing creativity, confidence, opportunity, belonging, and hope in the lives of young people in Binghampton.

What began as a vision to create a safe and creative space for children has grown into a community where young people can make art, grow food, explore their talents, develop workforce skills, discover their voices, and imagine futures beyond what they may have thought possible.

Now, as we celebrate 15 years, we are looking ahead.

Our 2026–27 campaign, 15 Years of Growing Futures, is both a celebration of how far we’ve come and an invitation to help shape what comes next.

🌾 Celebrating Where We've Been

Over the past 15 years, thousands of young people and families have been touched by Carpenter Art Garden.

Together, we have:

• Created spaces where children can safely learn, play, create, and belong.
• Introduced young people to art, gardening, culture, and new experiences.
• Provided teens with opportunities to earn, learn, lead, and explore careers.
• Connected youth with artists, educators, mentors, and community leaders.
• Helped young people see themselves not simply as participants, but as creators, authors, artists, leaders, and contributors to their community.

Every child who walked through our doors became part of the CAG story.

And every donor, volunteer, partner, artist, educator, and neighbor who believed in this vision helped make that story possible.

🌻 Growing What Matters Today

Today, Carpenter Art Garden continues to respond to the changing needs and dreams of Binghampton's young people.

Through our Seeds of Peace programming, youth have opportunities to develop creatively, academically, socially, and vocationally.

Our programs include after-school art education and youth enrichment, teen workforce development, community gardens, and community events.

This year, we are also expanding what is possible through Stories in Color, our arts and literacy partnership with Cornerstone Prep. K–3 students will learn to write, illustrate, and publish their own picture books—using creativity to strengthen literacy while helping children discover that their stories matter.

We are not simply providing activities.

We are creating opportunities for young people to discover who they are and who they can become.

🌟 Investing in Where We're Going

Fifteen years is something to celebrate.

But it is also a responsibility.

We want Carpenter Art Garden to be here for the next generation of Binghampton children—and for the next 15 years and beyond.

That means investing not only in programs, but in the people, partnerships, systems, and resources that make those programs sustainable.

Your gift helps us:

🎨 Grow Creativity
Provide young people with meaningful opportunities to create, experiment, express themselves, and discover their artistic voices.

📚 Grow Literacy & Learning
Connect art and education in ways that make learning engaging, memorable, and empowering.

💼 Grow Opportunity
Provide teens with paid apprenticeships, workforce development, mentorship, career exploration, and real-world skills.

💛 Grow Belonging
Maintain spaces where young people feel welcomed, valued, safe, and connected to their community.

🌱 Grow the Future
Strengthen Carpenter Art Garden so we can continue serving young people with consistency, creativity, and vision for years to come.

There Are Many Ways to Help Grow the Future

Whether you make a one-time gift, become a monthly donor, or make a leadership investment, your generosity helps create opportunities that can change the trajectory of a young person's life.

🌱 Become a Monthly Grower

Sustainable change requires consistent support.

Monthly donors provide the dependable funding that allows Carpenter Art Garden to plan ahead, strengthen our programs, and remain a consistent presence in the lives of young people throughout the year.

Consider becoming a Monthly Grower with a recurring gift:

$25/month — Grow Creativity
Helps provide art supplies, snacks, and hands-on learning opportunities.

$50/month — Grow Community
Supports enrichment, gardening, community connection, and experiences that help young people feel a sense of belonging.

$75/month — Grow Opportunity
Helps provide mentorship, workforce development, and opportunities for teens to learn and earn.

$100+/month — Grow the Future
Provides flexible, dependable support for the programs and opportunities young people need throughout the year.

Your monthly gift may be small to you, but its consistency makes a tremendous difference to CAG.

🌳 Join the Seeds of Hope Leadership Giving Circle

For those who want to make a deeper investment, the Seeds of Hope Leadership Giving Circle brings together visionary supporters who believe that the future of Binghampton's young people is worth investing in.

Leadership donors provide the resources that allow Carpenter Art Garden to dream bigger, respond to emerging needs, strengthen our organization, and build for the future.

🌳 Garden Guardian — $15,000+

A transformational investment in the future of Carpenter Art Garden and the young people we serve.

🌿 Grove Patron — $5,000+

Helps sustain and expand meaningful opportunities for children and teens throughout the year.

🌸 Bloom Benefactor — $1,500+

Provides vital support for creative, educational, and workforce development opportunities.

Leadership Giving Circle members aren't simply funding a program. They are helping cultivate the long-term future of Carpenter Art Garden.

🌷 Make a One-Time Gift

Every gift matters.

A one-time contribution can provide immediate support for the young people we serve while helping us continue building a strong and sustainable organization.

$15 — Celebrate 15 years of growing futures.

$150 — Help provide creative and educational experiences for young people.

$1,500 — Help expand opportunities for youth to learn, create, and grow.

$15,000+ — Make a transformational investment in CAG's next chapter.

Whatever amount you choose, you are helping grow what matters.

Help Us Grow the Next 15 Years

For 15 years, you have helped Carpenter Art Garden plant seeds.

You helped create a place where children could discover their creativity.

You helped teens find opportunity.

You helped families find community.

You helped young people believe that their futures could be bigger than their circumstances.

Now, we invite you to help us grow what comes next.

As we celebrate 15 years of Carpenter Art Garden, will you make a gift to help ensure that the next 15 years are filled with even more creativity, opportunity, and possibility?

Together, we can continue growing futures—one young person, one story, one opportunity, and one seed at a time.

Give today and help us invest in the next 15 years of Carpenter Art Garden!

Warmly,

Ayanna Murray Executive Director