January 9th, 2017, A group of 32 high school students came together during their Community Service Action Day to beautify their campus and provide green spaces. Gachina Landscape Management collaborated with Luis Valdez Leadership Academy (LVLA) to make this 
service day possible. Before the Gachina crews guided the students on the planting of the trees and herbs (that were provided by Gachina), employee Francisco Ruiz led a presentation focusing on the core values of Gachina and reviewed safety procedures. These core values are as follows: humor, passion, distinctiveness, loyalty, humility, adventerous, sense of urgency and confidence.
This was the first year LVLA had their Community Service Action day and we were very thankful to have been given the opportunity to assist them in making it possible. All Gachina employees who participated were happy and humbled by the dedication of the students, who all come from a low-socioeconomic background. Many of whom will be the first in their family to graduate from high school and attend college. More than a third of the students expressed having an interest in landscape as their family members work in landscape. In fact, we were happy to hear that some of the female students who participated were interested in the landscape industry. They were excited to learn that the landscape field welcomes women. 
At Gachina, half of 
the leadership team are woman. At the end of the day, the students realized that landscape is not only a job, but a career opportunity and that at Gachina “It enriches the lives of everyone and everything we touch,” our vision statement.
During the core values presentation, the students connected with John’s dedication and passion to the community. At one point, they expressed if they could meet John to thank him for having a kind heart, for donating everything that Gachina provided and for making their school more beautiful. The students wrote thank you cards expressing their feelings about the day and their admiration of John.
Gachina Landscape donated plant material, labor, expertise and love to this project. We were proud to be a part of it. LVLA is located in San Jose, California. Visit their website to learn more about this worthwhile organization.
