Spotlight On Out of the Garden Project

 

Throughout the service year many members have asked what exactly I do at Out of the Garden Project; the job while easy to explain is very hard work.   In April of this year, our members participated in a service project at my current site, Out of the Garden Project.  While members were present at the warehouse they worked on packing mobile food pantry bags with foods from Second Harvest Food Bank which are distributed to families at our mobile food pantries as part of their food box.  Other members also assisted in loading up our cooler with recently donated produce from local stores.  This produce is also distributed to local needy families at our mobile food drops.  Members serving at Peacehaven Farm assisted their clients in re-packaging donated pizzas that are also passed out to these needy families. 

OOTGP started out as one family packing backpacks on their kitchen table for 6 families at their daughter’s school and has grown into the largest non-profit of its kind in the Piedmont Triad.   At this time, we package and distribute backpacks from donated foods to schools in Guilford County and also do the same in High Point with food donated by the United Way of High Point. We distribute 65-80lbs of food at mobile food pantries located in both Greensboro and High Point, we have developed a partnership with Greensboro Child Development to assist them in passing out foods to their needy families, and we are doing a summer feeding/enrichment program at  3910 Clifton Road that will allow children to be fed breakfast and lunch and participate in learning activities.    This year alone, the project is estimated to distribute more than a half-million pounds of food through the programs listed above.  With the Operation Backpack and the 18 per month free Mobile Food Pantries we serve more than 50 schools and 2,500 families monthly.  Each week during the school year we serve more than 15,000 meals in Guilford County. 

This site is some of the hardest work ever but it also the most rewarding.  It brings a smile to my face to see kids being so excited about the fresh foods that they are receiving.  This project has touched my heart and I truly believe in their mission as I know from experience we are all one pay check away from needing someone to help us. 

To learn more about Out of the Garden Project, please visit their website.

-Written by April, who serves at Out of the Garden Project. April will be returning to our program and OOTGP for a second year!

Malisha's Favorite Service Project

Each month we are required to attend service projects where we do varied projects to help out at a local organization and/or nonprofit group. Our April 2015 service project was held at Peacehaven farms, a local farm in Whitsett, NC that provides housing for developmentally disabled people. The Farm helps with teaching their clients life skills, social skills, and farming. We helped with raised gardens by covering them. We had a couple overnight freezes in April which could have been disastrous for the Peacehaven crops. We were also asked to turn the ground to make it easier for the clients to plant spring crops. It was really fun to get down and dirty with the Peacehaven clients and the Mayor of Peacehaven. We also played a game of group Feud, which was hilarious.

Learn more about Peacehaven by visiting their website here.

This post was written by Malisha, who serves at Greensboro Urban Ministry.

Homelessness vs. Criminality

The following post was written by Shawn, an AmeriCorps member placed at Greensboro Urban Ministry. Shawn is also a Probation/Parole Officer. Along with 2 other Probation/Parole officers that are members of our program, Shawn conducted a training for our group in May.

I thoroughly enjoyed conducting the training “How to deal with ex-offenders”. The first part of the training surrounded self-defense. This was not to instill a fear of ex-offenders but a tool to have for a possible need of protection. Many ex-offenders have violent pasts, anger issues, or mental health issues. Learning how to defend oneself is a very necessary tool when dealing with this group of individuals.

            The Americorps members and staff that were present were fully engaged and contributed to the fun, laughs, and learning that was experienced. Kristy, April and I demonstrated several moves and the members practiced the moves on their own.  Me: “ Defense stance, move!”  Amercorps members: “Get Back!”  This rang in my ears for the next 24 hours.

            As the training progressed I had the members think about the reasons for homelessness and how closely they were related or the same as the reasons why people commit crimes. Unfortunately, a significant  part of the homeless population are ex- offenders and often times  “being homeless” and “being an ex-offender” becomes synonymous.  In some instances, we must learn to separate the 2 and apply a course of treatment and referral that is appropriate.

            Playing devil’s advocate, should we treat them as the same if we determine that ending homelessness could reduce crime?  In actuality, the very people living on our streets are more likely to be the victims of crime rather than the doer. Statistically speaking, 20% of people who are homeless commit crimes. However, these crimes are usually acts of survival such as prostitution, shoplifting, theft, etc., They are usually acts that they feel will improve their situation.

            Let us not ignore the criminal activity at the homeless camps. This is a place where police are not called and criminals blend in while criminal activity goes undetected. As an Americorps member 1^st and a Probation Officer 2^nd. I can see both sides of the coin.  We should not treat homeless people as criminals and not all criminals will be homeless.  On the flip side if we can eliminate homelessness, we can reduce crime. There will be no homeless people to commit crimes against, homeless people will not have to break laws to survive and there will be no camps for the real criminals to escape. 

            In some ways criminality and homelessness blend together. However, both activities can definitely have different approaches to the solution and negative assumptions about either one should be set aside. I have only recently reached this conclusion after serving as an Americorps member.  Before my service my thoughts were consistent with the vast majority.  In Americorps, we are not only serving our community, we are learning and growing as individuals.