Pictured above is Regina (left), our next door neighbor, and Lisa (right), a friend from the neighborhood grabbing a plate at the event. On the evening of July 28, 2018, the sun spilt beams of light onto a gathering at Hope House & Gardens. Neighbors, friends, and Voices for Earth Justice staff and family gathered for music, art, laughter, and food in our garden space.
Forty individuals, including a few members of the Miller Grove Block Club, our neighbors down the street, as well as a few friends from other corners of Detroit attended the garden soiree. For dinner, a table was spread with dishes that displayed the successes of the garden: bok choy salad, zucchini bread, and squash spread over flatbread. Our garden coordinator, L’Oreal Hawkes-Williams, has produced a diversity of vegetables that appeared in these dishes. Marty DeNicolo from Christ the King Service Corps provided his musical talents on the banjo for a portion of the evening. For the rest, the rhythm of a jazz playlist entertained. Other entertainment features included an interactive art piece, which depicted a natural scene on a large wooden board. The neighborhood children added their green handprints to fill out the foliage and grass. Overall, Hope House Garden was full of earth-minded individuals celebrating the fruits of community. The garden, which is grown together, was celebrated by those who partook in its care.
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Summer in the City Painting Crew are depicted at work making their design a reality on the VEJ front fence! Thanks for bringing all the color! Summer in the City painted a mural on Voices for Earth Justice fence. With 26 volunteers, SITC completed the mural in three visits. SITC Paint Crew Leader, Jen Maiorana, led the group of volunteers and brought the materials to add color to our fence.
Summer in the City is an organization run by college students, supported by high school and college-aged volunteers, and works with youth. Their mission focuses on three p’s: play, plant, and paint. At VEJ, SITC featured their painting skills. On site, Maiorana and Caleb Foerg, a member of the SITC crew, huddled around a table in the backyard of Hope House, designing the mural with immediate input from neighbors. These neighbors, including kids from the block, threw out ideas as artists drew. The finished design depicts bumble bees, a house, a duck pond, a sun bursting with rays, an apple tree, and other elements. Maiorana and Foerg transferred their design on the fence, opened up paint cans, and began the process of painting with volunteers. As paint strokes were moving, volunteers swapped ideas about environmental justice while painting, noting their sustainability IQ and personal practices. Volunteers engaged in environmentally-related conversations, neighbors gained a mural, and VEJ features the handiwork of these artists. Please stop by, visit, or volunteer Hope House to check out the mural. We have open volunteer days on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and first and third Saturdays. |
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