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Last Saturday, HSBC Bank, made a $75,000 contribution to New York City’s first “green” day camp.

Located in the Queens Botanical Garden in Flushing, the HSBC Children’s Garden is the first of its kind, a program educating children aged five to 12 about nature and the environment by allowing the children hands-on experience, including the gardening and harvesting of plants and vegetables, developing nutritious eating habits, recycling waste and conserving energy, among other environmental issues.

The day camp will begin its spring session March 29 for a fee of $315. It also offers summer and fall sessions.
Presenting the donation on behalf of the bank were Elizabeth Lee, senior vice president and district executive and Jae Shin, vice president and the Northern Boulevard branch manager in Flushing. Patty Kleinberg, director of education at the Children’s Garden received the check.

In spite of the ferocious rain that swept the city throughout the day, the turnout for the function was extraordinary, with former Children’s Garden students and their families attending, as well as an appearance by State Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellrose), a proponent of the Botanical Garden and green issues.

Lee spoke of HSBC’s efforts to support green organizations, such as the Botanical Garden, and to the preservation of the environment.

“The Queens Botanical Garden and HSBC Children’s Garden fit our bank’s philosophy of contributing back to the community we serve and focusing on environmental issues affecting us. Our bank has contributed over $100 million to environmental groups over the years, in their support.” she said. “We are proud of the work the Garden has done for the environment.”
Since 2002, HSBC has helped the cause of the Queens Botanical Garden and the Children’s Garden through its annual donation. From its inaugural year through 2007, HSBC contributed $50,000 to the Botanical Garden.

HSBC and the Botanical Garden, a private, nonprofit organization, have forged what is becoming a long-running and successful partnership that has not only helped maintain the Garden and its children’s program, but enabled it to make constant improvements to its infrastructure as well.
In addition to dozens of garden paths fielding hundreds of different plant life, the Botanical Garden is an environmentally friendly facility, equipped with panels on the building’s roof for solar-powered generation, geothermal water for heating, and even toilets containing natural decomposers.

“The Garden can save as much as 50 percent in energy by using natural methods instead of electricity,” said Shin, who also serves as Treasurer of the Board of Trustees at the Botanical Garden. “We are doing our part to preserve the earth, and that is, in turn, what we pass on to the children who attend our program.

All of this is made possible by the generous contributions of public and private donors.

Patrick Mirovsky, a garden donor also attributed HSBC’s philanthropic endeavors to helping keep the Children’s Garden intact through difficult times.

“In 2002, in the wake of 9/11, New York City was cutting its budget to save money, and money [through public and private gifts] at the [Botanical] Garden was running dry. It looked as though the Children’s Garden would have to be suspended,” Mirovsky said. “That’s when HSBC stepped up and made the first [of its] generous contributions. It was something that none of us at the Garden will ever forget.”

For more information regarding the Queens Botanical Garden or its programs visit www.queensbotanical.org or call (718) 886-3800.