VALLE CRUCIS, NC – Land Trust Day is the first Saturday in June and is celebrated at Mast General Store by making a donation of 20% of the day’s sales to local land trust partners. Mast Store’s contribution combined with the spare change of guests resulted in more than $60,000 shared with recipient agencies.
A land trust is a non-profit mechanism used to preserve open space, protect natural resources, and provide recreational opportunities. Mast Store’s land trust partners have conserved prominent natural landmarks, like Howard Knob in Boone, North Carolina; helped family farms stay in the family, like the Harris Farm in Rockford, Tennessee, and completed and expanded the Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville, South Carolina.
The benefits derived from the activities of land trusts are real, and we all benefit from them.
"Land Trust organizations are critical to the health of our ecology and communities,” said Ryan Robinson, Mast Store’s corporate responsibility and community partnerships manager. “They are not only protecting clean water and clean air, they also open access to outdoor spaces for recreation, protect small family farms, and preserve a way of life for so many communities. The Mast Store fully supports the work of our land trust partners and believes their efforts are shaping better outcomes for our communities and eco-systems."
This year more than 9,400 guests chose to donate their spare change to land trust partners during a week-long roundUP. Of those, 46 decided to contribute additional funds to the cause.
Mast Store has celebrated Land Trust Day since 2003 and has partners in each of its communities, including Blue Ridge Conservancy, New River Conservancy, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, Conserving Carolina, Upstate Forever, Foothills Land Conservancy, Congaree Land Trust, Piedmont Land Conservancy, and Blue Ridge Land Conservancy.
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