Bobbie Sweet
DONOR
Bobbie Sweet with her husband Cy. As in so many things, they were united in their support of SHI. When Cy passed away several years ago, SHI planted a small grove of trees in Panama to honor his memory.
Bobbie Sweet is one of SHI’s longest standing donors. Active in preserving the environment on multiple fronts, not only through her generous donations to SHI, she also serves on the boards at the Nature Conservancy, the Ocean Conservancy and the Island Institute, and active involvement in the National Tropical Botanical Gardens.
Bobbie grew up in Illinois and spent her summers exploring the wild in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It was there that she gained a profound love of nature that set her on a conservation mission that she has continued to pursue throughout her life.
Bobbie and her brother, Doug Kinney, have been SHI’s top supporters for providing breadfruit seedlings from the National Tropical Botanical Garden to SHI’s partnering farmers. Incorporated into farmers’ agroforestry plots, these seedlings grow into trees that produce up to 400 pounds annually of low-fat, nutrient-dense carbohydrates.
Over the years, her donations to SHI have contributed to countless projects from establishing school gardens in Belize to reforesting degraded land in Honduras.
Standing the test of time
“I’m proud of SHI’s work because such a high percentage of the participants still continue the program and in many cases, their children have built on what their families learned. Congratulations to SHI for 25 years of imaginative and transformative work!”
Bobbie’s relationship with SHI is a story of continuity. Not only has she been a regular donor for over twenty years, she’s also witnessed SHI’s long-lasting effects on the communities it partners with.
91% of SHI farmers continue the practices learned for years after finishing the program.
Bobbie enjoys hearing about SHI graduates and their families like Roxana Ojo, a young woman in Panama, who is now pursuing her bachelor’s degree in agroforestry. Bobbie is delighted that people follow Roxana’s progress on Instagram, watching her tree seedlings continue to grow.
