High winds wreaked havoc in the DC area last week. One of the storm’s many casualties was 18-year Air Force veteran Benjamin Johnson’s fence. Check out the story below!
About Mr. Johnson
Benjamin Johnson spent 18 years in the United States Air Force as a water and fuels maintenance technician. Eight years of his service was spent abroad in South Korea, Germany, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
RTEC and EJA to the Rescue!
Mr. Johnson’s fence was badly damaged by a cherry limb that fell in the storm. RTEC found out about this storm damage situation and visited the property to assess the damage and talk to the homeowner. After hearing Mr. Johnson’s story, we couldn’t resist nominating him for EJA’s At Ease Program!
EJA and RTEC Treecare partnered to remove the limb from the fence the very same day.
About EJA
The Environmental Justice Alliance (EJA) was founded by RTEC’s leadership in 2019 as a way to give back to our community. EJA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which seeks to provide environmental solutions to historically underserved communities. So far, EJA’s beneficiaries have included homeless shelter residents, veterans, and first responders.
About the At Ease Program
EJA originally launched the At Ease Program in 2020 as an initiative to provide complimentary tree maintenance and hazard-tree mitigation to veterans and servicemembers. EJA’s Executive Director and RTEC’s President both grew up in military families and wanted to be able to give back to those who serve our country. One way for us to get involved was to take the task of maintaining trees and mitigating tree-related hazards off of servicemembers’ and veterans’ plate.
In light of the COVID-19 crisis, EJA recognizes that there are other heroes on the front lines of the pandemic who deserve our thanks. In addition to still accepting nominations for veterans and servicemembers, EJA has extended eligibility for the At Ease Program to now include:
- Teachers
- First Responders
- Healthcare Workers
How you can help:
- If you’d like to nominate a hero in your life, please click here.
- If you’d like to donate to support our cause, please click here.
- If you’d like to keep up with the work we’re doing, please follow us on Instagram @environmentaljusticealliance
