By ALISHA GREEN December 10, 2019 Adam Marshall remembers fondly the time he spent as a kid on his grandfather’s ranch in Watsonville. That’s where he learned how much he enjoyed labor-intensive work. He dreamed of carrying on his grandfather’s commitment to helping others in need without an expectation of anything in return—as Marshall recently explained to a riveted audience …
“Service is not a hierarchy but a reciprocity in which the distinctions between teacher and pupil, giver and receiver, helper and helped constantly dissolve.” –Scott London In honor of Make a Difference Week, we took time to acknowledge our extraordinary community of volunteers, and to reflect on how volunteering with HGP has made a difference in people’s lives. Becca McKnight is an invaluable …
One goal of our community education and volunteer programs is to create the Inclusion in our vision statement: We envision a thriving and inclusive community, workforce and local food system. A recent study performed by UCSC researchers, Heather E. Bullock, Shirley V. Truong, and Lina Chhun was published in the Journal of Poverty. You can read Combatting Social Exclusion: “Safe Space” and the Dynamics of …
Good Evening everyone. Thank you all for coming tonight. My name is Katrina Dubinsky. Everyone calls me Kat. I am a very fortunate volunteer at Homeless Garden Project and I’m grateful Darrie asked me to speak tonight. I am especially pleased to speak on something that involves promise, hope, solutions and humanity. I have much to tell about my experience …
“I regret the times when I neglected those around me, specifically those in need of a small act of kindness or reassurance.” In all of the stories I’ve heard while volunteering for the Homeless Garden Project, this line was one of the most poignant. I’ve come to learn that taking the time to help others starts with understanding the problems …
2014: Our Volunteer Community Grew This year, we partnered with 2,200 volunteers at the farm, workshop, retail store and office, with a total of nearly 20,000 hours. According to national averages, the estimated service value of our volunteers for 2014 is $405,400! We can’t emphasize enough what an important role this community plays in our daily lives at HGP. We …
Cesar Chavez Day, March 28, 2015. We celebrated with a community work day in partnership with UCSC Alumni, attended by more than 100 people. After lunch, we heard from Ines Marines and Susan Samuels Drake about their experiences working with Cesar Chavez. Below is the text from their talk. Good afternoon everyone, My name is Ines Marines. I was born in …
Early on, the Women’s Organic Flower Enterprise filled a void in Homeless Garden Project’s training program during the winter months and held out the promise of earned income for the Project. In 2014, the Homeless Garden Project Store has done so much more than fill out the training program in the winter months. Today it’s at the center of a web of community …
In early spring, we have planned our crops for the year–how many beds, how the beds will be rotated, how many plants to a bed. We are sowing seeds in the greenhouse and planting seedlings from the greenhouse in the ground. It is only natural to begin to think about WHO we are growing this food for. A beautiful part …
When people ask me what is the best thing they can do to improve their diet, my answer is always the same: to cook at home more often. It isn’t to exclude sugar, wheat, gluten, or dairy, to eat more leafy greens… While all of those might be helpful, I think the best place to start is by getting to …
