Wednesday, March 7, 2001
Community Service
Section A·Page 7
Playing in the dirt
Christian Nelson, 9, examines the soil level in his seed starting cup as, left to right, Decorey Pittman, 7, Sarah Hill, Hutchinson junior, and Mark Bradshaw, Walnut senior, triple check his accuracy, and Marcus Tolbert, 7, begins filling his own cup. Bradshaw helped found GROW, a program for teaching children how to garden. Photo by Jamie Roper/KANSAN
KU students plant seed of discovery
By Karen Lucas
Kansan correspondent
Digging in the dirt with kids is one way Mark Bradshaw makes a difference in the local community.
The Walnut senior volunteers every week for GROW Garden Project, a program that teaches children about gardening and other related topics. Bradshaw helps coordinate the program, which has about 20 volunteers and is sponsored by the University's Center for Community Outreach.
"At the heart of it, we want to provide education about nature and nutrition to kids," Bradshaw said. "The kids get to do projects that they might not see in school."
The program's centerpiece is a garden that student volunteers help children maintain at the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence, 1520 Haskell Ave. Bradshaw and Holly Worthen, McPherson Junior, got the idea for it after seeing community gardens during a weekend service-learning trip to Wichita in the fall of 1999.
"We wanted to bring that back to Lawrence," he said.
The following spring, Bradshaw and Worthen launched their gardening program.
GROW's first-year garden was a success. Participants grew a variety of vegetables and flowers, including string beans, corn, carrots, nias.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
string beans, broccoli, tomatoes,
corn, carrots, marigolds and zinnias.
The garden was 100 percent organic. Bradshaw said it wasn't safe for children to work with pesticides nor did a small garden like their's need them.
The young gardeners became attached to their plants — making sure they all got proper care. In the process, they became fascinated with worms and developed a fondness for tomatoes.
"By August, they were eating them like apples," Bradshaw said.
Dionel Payne, Lawrence resident and Boys and Girls Club employee, said two of her daughters even brought home some of the garden's tomatoes and showed them to family members and friends.
Payne said she appreciated how the KU students made it possible for the children at the club to experience something new.
"I'm very glad that they're here
because most of the kids here don't have the opportunity to garden at home," she said.
Much of the program has dealt with gardening, but the children have taken part in other hands-on activities, including a field trip to the Baker Wetlands, a cookout, games and art projects. Nasty weather doesn't interfere because the program runs year round, outdoors as well as indoors. On one recent Tuesday afternoon at the club, a small group of children sat at a table in the art room and sketched pictures of different kinds of seeds that they viewed in magnifying boxes.
Jeff Severin, GROW co-coordinator and Robinson senior, said finding activities the participants would both learn from and enjoy posed a challenge.
"You can't just get up and lecture, especially to younger kids," he said. "You have to find something they can draw or play with."
Severin had nothing but praise for the volunteers. He said they offered ideas, enjoyed interacting with the children and showed a lot of dedication.
Katie Harpstrite, an Andover junior who has been volunteering for GROW on a regular basis this semester, said that she liked how the program gave volunteers the chance
D'onna Clark, 6, redistributes some soil before planting. Clark opted to plant leeks despite not knowing what they were. Photo by Jamie Roper/KANSAN
Bradshaw said that GROW, which now serves about 40 children, was a good experience for both the children and the volunteers.
to spend time with children in a meaningful way - they were teaching them rather than just playing with them.
and attention. And we benefit from being with them," he said. "All our lives are enriched from having contact with the natural world."
"The kids benefit from our time
Although GROW is only about a year old, it already has made its mark — locally and nationally. In January, GROW received a Kids Gardening Community Spirit Award from the National Gardening Association.
"That was a nice pat on the back." Bradshaw said. "It just made us feel like we were doing something right." The association also gave GROW a Youth Garden Grant, which amounts to $750 in gardening supplies. So far the program has received seeds, plant trays and a bird feeder. Severin said the supplies were of excellent quality and were things the group would use.
With a grant and award under their belt, the coordinators and volunteers are looking to further enhance the program.
Bradshaw said he hoped for a bigger garden this year. GROW may also expand by offering programs at various elementary schools.
"I really hope it takes off," Severin said. "Because obviously we can reach a lot more of the Lawrence youth that way."
— Edited by Megan Phelos
Students reach out to help the community
By Melissa Cooley Kansan correspondent
The students parrot lines from Wayne's World and laugh as they scrub dishes. But the woman standing among them does not laugh. Lines of exhaustion rim her eyes.
The students have spent the day serving hot meals to families of sick children at the Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City, Kan. For the woman, the students' laughter is more fulfilling than the lasagna. It is the first time all day that she has thought of something other than her son lying in a hospital bed at the University of Kansas Medical Center. As she listens to the students' carrying on, the lines of exhaustion break into a smile.
Smiles like those keep Palvih Bhana, Lawrence senior, interested in community service. As the president of the Student Alumni Association, she gets plenty of opportunities to stay involved. Although the organization was created to give undergraduate students a chance to interact with alumni, its members also find themselves interacting with the community.
Members plan at least one community service project a month. Just this year, the group has served dinner at the Ronald McDonald House, placed decorations on the doors at Brandon Woods Retirement Home, delivered flowers and Valentines to senior citizens, donated to Toys for Tots and raised money for United Way.
Andrea Troutman, vice president of outreach, plans the monthly service projects. For the month of March, Troutman said she was planning a project in which members would donate their time painting ceramic bowls. The bowls would then be sold on campus, and the proceeds would go to the Jubilee Cafe.
All of this service is done in addition to activities more traditionally associated with the organization, such as helping with the Rock Chalk Ball, a national merit fund-raiser, providing security for the Homecoming Parade, and celebrating the University's birthday. Nevertheless, it is the community service that leaves lasting impressions on members like Bhana and Troutman.
"Just to see the expressions on their faces. It makes it all worthwhile," Bhana said.
But sometimes, Bhana and other members of the organization do not to get to see the smiles. At Brandon Woods Retirement Home, for instance, the students hang decorations at night to be found when the residents wake up.
Judy Ruedlinger, resident life coordinator at Brandon Woods, said such acts of kindness were very meaningful to residents.
"It's so neat for them to open their door and find something the students have made." she said.
And it's meaningful to Troutman as well.
"It's the reason I joined SAA," she said. "It's provided me with a way to contribute to the community."
Edited by Jennifer Valadez
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