Our Mission
Trellis for Tomorrow delivers experiential programs in organic gardening, environmental education, and food security that provide practical and behavioral life skills for youth and adults. Our aspiration is to foster compassion and resilience in people and inspire them to build sustainable communities
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Our Story
Trellis for Tomorrow began in 2003 as a handful of youth programs under the umbrella of the Triskeles Foundation, an Exton-based nonprofit providing philanthropic services and donor-advised funds. Our youth and community-based programs expanded and evolved so significantly that in 2009 we established ourselves as a separate non-profit organization, Triskeles Inc.
After many years of delivering highly effective programs and services in our community, the meaning and impact of our work became clearer. In 2018 we became Trellis for Tomorrow, our new name reflecting our mission to support the sustainable upward growth of our youth, our communities, and our planet.
Our programs and services help youth and adults to cultivate learning and self-development, participate in meaningful work, enjoy healthy lifestyles and healthy land, and exercise social responsibility. We aim to foster a community of responsible citizens equipped to make choices that sustain themselves and a healthy environment as they find sustainable solutions to today’s problems.
Our Values
We are forward thinking and optimistic
We do not shy away from the future, nor do we ignore reality or science. We lean into it, are curious about it, and embrace it. We regularly consider how we can best position ourselves to serve others in the world of the future. We maintain a positive attitude in our workplace and strive to pass on a sense of hope and optimism in all that we do with others.
We care deeply for our planet and all who live on it
Living things thrive when they are cared about and cared for. When people experience being cared for, they are better able to care for others, living things of all sizes – great and small – and the substance, materials, and building blocks of this world that support their living. At Trellis, we focus intently on how we care for others and regularly seek to improve the ways we do so. We hope the way we care for others will inspire caring and compassion in the communities we serve.
We believe we are all connected
With the complexity of the world today, it is easy to lose sight of how our individual lives are connected to all that is around us. Internally, and in our programs, we emphasize the importance of understanding systems thinking. We strive to raise our participant’s sense of their relationship to, and potential for impact on, the many systems they interact with. We hope this sense of relation will cause us all to be more mindful of our actions and to motivate us to create positive change in the world.
We believe in life long learning and the power of experience
We believe learning is a forever journey that is most potent when achieved through experiences. We are never done growing, nor is anyone ever “beyond hope” or lacking in potential. We strive to light a fire in our workplace and programs so that people of all ages become and remain curious about the world around them and confident in their ability to grow, change, and evolve. We also believe that people learn most effectively when all their senses are involved in an experience. Furthermore, when direct experience occurs in nature, additional benefits such as fresh air, physical activity, and improved mental health, can have an even more profound transformative potential, especially in our increasingly virtual world.
We accomplish more by partnering
The more we cooperate and collaborate, the more fulfilled and more resilient we will be, both as individuals and collectively. At Trellis, we proactively seek out mutually beneficial connections for ourselves and for others and keep ourselves open to explore any opportunities for partnership. Our goal is to build strong, authentic, partnerships of all types that will optimize resources and strengthen the communities we serve .
We strive for justice for all
All life is important and no one life is more important than another. We are committed to continually educating ourselves and others to rectify past and current injustices in any system that we are a part of. This commitment involves being open to seeing the world through a new lens and to not turning away from things that are painful and for which we must take ownership. Once we are aware, it is our responsibility to proactively work towards a more just and equitable future for all.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Trellis for Tomorrow staff and board are committed to starting change from within. We will settle for nothing less than for Trellis to become an anti-racist organization. This opportunity is at the doorstep of all organizations and individuals, but we feel it particularly critical for an organization such as ours that works daily for greater social, environmental, and economic justice. Each of these areas is deeply and inextricably tied to racial justice and we cannot solve one without addressing the others. Read more →
Trellis for Tomorrow is an equal opportunity organization and makes all employment/volunteer/program acceptance decisions without regard to race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, disability, age, genetic information, or any other status protected under applicable federal, state, or local laws. For a full copy of Trellis's anti-harassment and discrimination policy, including grievance procedures, please click here. Should you require a translation of this document into another language or an audio version, please call 610-886-4901.