WBEZ Community Champion Day of Service at I Grow Chicago

Community Champion:

Tameka Lawson

Organization Mission:

I Grow Chicago is a non-profit, 501-c-3 corporation and their service area includes Englewood, South Shore, South Chicago, Roseland, parts of Auburn-Gresham, and parts of Woodlawn. After eight years of working in the community, they have created a plan for I Grow Chicago’s Urban Farm, Green Community Healing / Educational Center and Sanctuary. This center will serve as an economic engine to begin to solve the myriad aggregation of multi-generational economic, health, and mental problems caused by poverty. They plan to seize the opportunity to turn a food desert into an oasis through community and economic development using a self-sustaining model.

Project Type:

Meal

Project Description:

Volunteers will help to support the new Green Community Healing/Educational Center and Sanctuary by hosting a neighborhood meal event that will engage community members. Volunteers will serve lunch to the community, manage an arts and craft table, manage a game table, and sort books for the Literary Fest.

With volunteer help, more prep work can be done, more beds are created, more plants are planted and this results in more wholesome, healthy, fresh food that is integrated into the cafeteria of all 3 schools. WBEZ volunteers will dig out already existing garden beds, move compost/ soil into the beds, plant seedlings into the beds, fertilize and water seedlings, and pick up trash around surrounding school yard.

The more prep work that is done, the more beds that are created, the more plants that are planted means that more wholesome, healthy, fresh food can be integrated into the cafeteria of these schools. Build more garden beds, fill beds with soil/ compost, paint garden beds, plant seedlings, water seedlings, plant bulbs/ flowers in surrounding school yard, pick up trash in surrounding school yard