Nonprofit in Whatcom County goes viral on TikTok, sees overwhelming response to Seed Share campaign

Growing Veterans, a local nonprofit in Lynden, Washington, went viral on TiktTok after they posted a video about their Seed Share campaign, the nonprofit said in a release.

Every year, Growing Veterans does a Seed Share, where people can sign up to receive seeds in the mail to start their own gardens, with the promise they will donate any excess produce to their local food banks.

On Monday night, they posted a video about the Seed Share on TikTok.

The nonprofit expected its usual 100 or so sign-ups, but on Tuesday morning, they woke up to the video going viral.

Within 24 hours, the video reached over 80,000 views. Their website had over 16,000 page views, and online orders for their Seed Share hit 1,000, prompting them to close the ordering system.

People from every state in America visited the Growing Veterans website. Many of them ordered an extra seed share to be donated to others who can’t afford it, the release said.

The nonprofit said they were “excited and amazed with heart-warming comments coming in from around the country.”

One commenter said, “As a veteran who loves gardening, I think this is so beautiful, keep up the good work.”

Another wrote, “Gosh, what a great thing you’re doing!!! Be the change!!!”

Growing Veterans said they are excited about the number of orders, but it will take time to fill them all.

“This is an amazing opportunity to bring 1,000 gardens to people all over the US, but it will be a challenge to fill this large amount of orders we weren’t expecting,” said Sean Dalgarn, the Executive Director of Growing Veterans. “To fill these orders, we need to sort over 25,000 seeds from bulk bags into smaller packets for each order.”

The task may seem daunting, but the 10-year-old nonprofit is up for the challenge, they said.

“In the past, the community has shown up to help us in times of need, and we are confident they will show up to help us now too,” Tonneli Gruetter, Growing Veteran’s Outreach Manager, said.

Growing Veterans was founded by Christopher Brown, a combat-wounded veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, and Christina Wolf, a former mental health counselor turned farmer in 2012, according to their website.

“They agreed using the farm as the catalyst for human connection, and veteran reintegration could have a powerful impact on the health and well-being of not only vets returning home, but the world,” the nonprofit’s website said.

Growing Veterans supports ending isolation that leads to suicide, explained the release. To donate, visit https://growingveterans.org/.

Growing Veterans is also organizing a volunteer assembly line to sort the seeds and pack them. They are seeking volunteer sign-ups now from the north Puget Sound region, especially Whatcom and Skagit Counties, and expect to start asking volunteers to help within the next few weeks.