Leather & Art by Memory Trees

Leather & Art by Memory Trees is a one-of-a-kind chartitable gift store. They call it a "No Poverty" project.

Memory Trees generates revenue by selling unique, handmade, artisanal products. All revenue they generate (1) pays artists and artisans for their time and labor, (2) funds products costs, (3) supports the nonprofit's educational, after-school programs, and (4) funds their educational grants for vocational students enrolled in a 2-year college trade program.

The impact to the community is HUGE! They work to turn proverbial "struggling artists and artisans" into local community superstars.

Leather & Art by Memory Trees is a charitable gift shop, museum, permanent exhibition, art gallery and educational center (for workshops)... all in one!

The mission of Memory Trees is so important. It is easy - for those of us who have plenty and have access to transportation - to forget that there are many people who struggle to feed their families. The community gardens that Memory Trees has built in poverty-stricken neighborhoods are helping people feed their families. When the nearest grocery store is more than a mile away and you have no transportation, the struggle is real. It has made volunteering, and finding volunteers for the garden, so rewarding.

However, there is so much more to this organization. Rudi, Debbie and Reece Bester are employing people with disabilities. They are giving young adults wonderful work experience to add to their repertoire of skills and to their resume. But more importantly, they are giving them a sense of purpose and an opportunity to demonstrate that their disability doesn’t mean they have no abilities.

Less than 30% of adults with disabilities are gainfully employed. While there might be limits to what they can do, isn’t that the case for those of us without a disability, too? We all have our limits, but Memory Trees is doing their part to help others overcome them.

I am so happy to have found this organization and look forward to helping them help others.

My church youth group came to West Palm Beach for Xfuge on Mission Camp. We were assigned to two locations the week we served. Memory Trees was our construction and yard work project. We didnt know what to expect but when we arrived we were greeted by Reece. He is the Project Manager. We were at a community garden in Gramercy Park. We started out by pulling weeds and picking up trash. Some of my youth worked spreading mulch in areas that didnt have any. A few of my older youth worked on the construction project of building shade covers for the raised beds to protect the vegetable plants from scorching. We had a great time learning and working to help this community. Memory Trees is a great organization and needs your support to help combat poverty. I hope to work with them again in the future. Memory Trees also had a garden at our other work site, The Boys and Girls Club of West Palm Beach DeGeorge Center.

Memory Trees has served Palm Beach County so well! Throughout my experience with them I helped with teaching kids, building vegetable gardens, and park clean-ups. They are open to new ideas and always pushing to improve. I can't wait to work with them in the future and continue to provide these fundamental lessons and spaces to our community.

The team from Memory Trees - Rudi, Debbie and Reese, were so resourceful in helping our school, Palm Beach School for Autism, build a garden for our students. They taught our teachers about growing different herbs, vegetables, fruits and plants/flowers; they did lessons with our students also. The Memory Trees team helped with every step from fundraising to volunteers building our garden to measuring and follow-up assistance whenever needed. They are always very responsive and supportive.

I started working with Memory Trees about 6 months ago. They truly want to help the community and people to be self-sufficient. They have big hearts and are constantly working on new ideas to help educate and empower others. A great organization with big goals to help others have a better quality of life.

Memory Trees is an awesome organization that promotes healthy eating habits by educating the community. I have been volunteering for them since January 2017 and I enjoy what I do. I enjoy interacting with the children, their family, and of course the community in general. Memory Trees also promotes educational opportunities, zero hunger, and poverty. These are continuous social issues that we need to address and bring awareness. For this reason, I become drawn to this organization and the benefits it provides to me as a student and a civilian.

I spent the last 6 months volunteering with Memory Trees, and aside from being an amazing organization, its was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Leadership at Memory trees is second to none. Debbie has taken Memory Trees into the most underserved communities to reach children and families that need it most. I hope to continue my work with Memory Trees in DC, possibly helping with a satellite organization. Amazing team with amazing vision.

Memory Trees is a fabulous organization that knows how to get things done with collaboration with others and hard work. They worked with our team of youth at the Highridge Family Center to create gardens for each dorm. This was both therapeutic and educational. They also mobilized a team of volunteers from FPL to assist. We really appreciate the work they have done.

Memory Trees is an amazing organization which promotes healthy eating by teaching kids and their families how to garden. The members of this non-profit genuinely care about the health and happiness of the kids that they work with. The hard effort they put in daily to grow this organization has resulted in successful projects, achieved goals, and healthier kids.

Laser focused: No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Health & Wellness