One week before Easter, VEJ Development Director Sr. Janet Stankowski, OP, and IT & Administrative Support Professional Rich Samartino visited Hope House neighbors Detroit Hope Community of Christ Church. Sr. Janet (pictured left with Pastor Julie Bock) gave an eco-centered homily focusing on the need to care for our 'common home' and lifting up Detroit as 'holy ground'. Rich gave a short talk about some of our sustainable practices at Hope House and what he enjoys most about living at Greydale & Puritan - engaging our neighbors and community.

Happy Easter, and enjoy a few more pictures from the day below.

Click here to view the campaign and make a contribution: https://www.gofundme.com/HopeHouse2

VEJ Garden Manager Bianca Danzy wants to take down a burned down home to build up a hoop house and flower garden across the street from Hope House! We are partnering with her to help raise the funds for this project.

Bianca has been awarded a grant for $2000 to purchase a property to establish a hoop house and garden site. We would like your support in purchasing this property and safely deconstructing the burned home across the street from us. The estimated cost of buying the home, paying the back taxes on it, and deconstructing it is approximately $10,000.

Once the house is removed, we will convert the lot into a hoop house and plant a garden around it. The hoop house will serve to grow native plants and vegetables, which we will share with neighbors and visitors. It will also extend our gardening season and allow us to cultivate transplants that will help us further promote gardening and sustainable agriculture in Detroit.

Funding beyond our goal will be invested in seeds and materials for maintaining the hoop house.

To read more and make a contribution, visit https://www.gofundme.com/HopeHouse2

Thank you for your support!

Tomorrow, millions of people around the world will be turning off their lights and thinking about environmental issues from 8:30 - 9:30pm, local time. To learn how to join the movement, visit https://www.earthhour.org/ and check out the short video below.