Leaders Lab Alumni Lend a Hand
Graduates of the Leaders Lab of Greater Charlottesville recently spent a morning digging, raking, tilling, mulching, trimming, planting and repairing at a local community garden.
The International Rescue Committee New Roots program runs the garden, and LL alums visited as part of the United Way of Greater Charlottesville 2024 Day of Caring.
The workday was postponed twice due to rainy weather and muddy conditions, but the sun was shining when our team arrived. We learned how the New Roots team partners with refugees to adapt favorite crops from their home countries to the dense soil and wet growing conditions of Central Virginia.
New Roots has developed training materials with minimal written instructions and detailed pictures for their garden workshops, which include simultaneous translation into as many as four languages at a time.
Participants look forward to volunteering together again! The team included:
Kyna Thomas, City of Charlottesville, LL Class of 2023
Karin Little, Karin Little Consulting, LL Class of 2024
Ann Marie Hohenberger, Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, LL Class of 2023
Whitmore Merrick, City of Charlottesville, LL Class of 2024
Suzanne Lynn, SGL Consulting, LL Class of 2023
Coles Jennings, Community Climate Collaborative, LL Class of 2024
Coles shared on LinkedIn:
"I was lucky enough to join up with other Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce #leaderslab alumni to put in a shift at one of the community gardens around town.
This one (Homewood Farm in Ivy) is operated by the International Rescue Committee as part of their New Roots Program. This amazing program provides garden plots for refugee families to cultivate produce, feed their families, and even take to market! There is a lot growing here that I had never even heard of, let alone laid eyes on. This really brought to life the vibrancy of community gardens, especially those cared for by people coming from all over the globe.
In case you're wondering, that's me pushing an ALL-ELECTRIC roto-tiller. If you know me at all, you know I could not contain myself when they asked who wanted to give it a spin. My forearms are still vibrating. Worth it!
Learn more about New Roots here, and consider a donation or volunteering your time: www.rescue.org/announcement/new-roots-charlottesville"
