A fruit tree can carry more than fruit. It can hold a memory, honor someone we love, or help create an experience we hope another person gets to have someday. For Erica Kratofil, co-executive director of The Giving Grove, conversations with donors are a reminder that generosity rarely begins with a transaction. It begins with a story. In this reflection, Erica shares a few of the stories that have stayed with her and considers what it means to plant something today that may continue nourishing people, neighborhoods, and memories for generations.

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Contributed by Erica Kratofil, Co-Executive Director

Erica and her daughter plant a fruit tree in Lawrence, Kansas

One of the things I love most about my work is hearing the stories behind the gifts entrusted to us.

Every time someone makes a gift to The Giving Grove, I reach out, by phone if possible. Sometimes the conversations are brief: a warm exchange, a shared appreciation for trees or fresh food or community. But sometimes donors share a deeply personal story behind their gifts. Those conversations stay with me long after the call ends.

The Stories Behind the Gifts

One donor shared that she gives in memory of a grandchild who died before birth. According to the baby books she was reading at the time, he was about the size of a peach when he passed. Now, she donates fruit trees in his memory.

She said it feels like a way to honor a life that was brief but deeply loved by providing fruit trees that will nourish a neighborhood. I thanked her for the privilege of being part of his story and sat with that family’s love and grief for a long time after the call. I think of her and her beloved grandson every year when I see the peach trees setting fruit.

Another donor told me about her children, who were looking for a way to do something meaningful during the early days of the pandemic, when so many of their usual activities were on hold. For their scout projects, they built bat boxes and bee hotels for community orchards. Years later, their mom still remembers what it meant for them to have a way to contribute and care for something beyond themselves during an uncertain time.

The Memories We Choose to Share

I've talked with donors who grew up picking fruit from trees in their grandparents' yards. They remember reaching into the branches and eating fruit right off the tree. And they remember the simple abundance of having food growing just outside the door.

They give because they want other children to know that feeling too.

I think about these conversations often because they remind me that generosity is deeply personal. Behind a gift might be a childhood memory, someone we loved, an experience that shaped us, or hope for the kind of community we want to live in.

What We Carry Forward

In many ways, giving is about deciding what we want to carry forward.

That's especially meaningful at The Giving Grove, where the things we plant today can be here for decades. A fruit tree planted now may someday be the tree a child remembers picking from when they're grown. An orchard cared for by neighbors today may become part of the story of that neighborhood for a generation.

As we celebrate another season of harvest, I'm grateful for every person who chooses to be part of that story. I'm grateful for the generosity that makes this work possible, of course. But I'm equally grateful for the trust people place in us when they tell us what their gift means to them.

It is a privilege to listen, and an honor to help carry those stories forward.

About the Author

Erica Kratofil serves as Co-Executive Director of The Giving Grove, overseeing national strategy and partnerships that expand equitable access to fresh, locally grown fruit. She’s dedicated to helping communities transform underutilized spaces into long-term sources of nourishment, connection, and climate resilience.