Missoula, Montana has done it again. They’re one of our most active local Obama Works groups and I couldn’t be happier about this video - once you watch it, I think you’ll agree. You may have caught their fantastic river cleanup video earlier this year, and this one doesn’t disappoint. Enjoy!
After getting rained out on the Day of Service, the dedicated folks in York, PA managed to reschedule for this past Saturday. For this project, they headed out to work on a local garden. Here’s our friend Laura with more:
Mike Martin was homeless earlier this year when he discovered a vacant overgrown lot in downtown York, and petitioned the city for a lease to create a vegetable garden. Through his passion for gardening and hours of hard work, Mike’s “Garden of Angels” has produced over eight hundred of pounds of fruits and vegetables, from cantaloupes and watermelons, to tomatoes, peppers, spinach and okra. Mike gives away his produce for free by taking it door to door in the community.
Mike came to an Obama Works meeting this July. He is not particularly political, but had heard of about our community service efforts and was looking for some help with specific projects and ongoing maintenance of the garden. We started to send individuals to the garden to help out whenever possible, and also set up a group event for September 6th, Obama Works National Day of Service.
September 6th, unfortunately, was a total wash out. But a couple of weeks later, ten volunteers came together on a gorgeous autumn day and spent the afternoon working at the garden. We did a variety of projects including cleaning out beds that were finished for the season, building new beds, hauling many wheelbarrows of dirt to even out the terrain, weeding, mowing and picking. At the end of the afternoon, a few local children stopped by and we loaded them up with tomatoes, bell peppers and green beans to take back to their families.
Laura says there will be pictures to come, and we’ll be adding them once we have them - but I think it’s safe to say already that this event was a resounding success!
Update: Photos!
The whole gang
Hard at work!
For more photos from the event, check out the images page!
I’m happy to report that the wonderful Obama Works Twin Cities group (their wrap-up is posted on the Day of Service page) has been featured on the BarackObama.com blog! Check it out here:
Fulfilling their agreement to work rain or shine, the volunteers rolled up their sleeves and got their hands dirty, helping landscape two homes in dismal weather.
“It was hard, muddy work but very satisfying to see how we transformed these small urban yards into beautiful gardens,” said Vina, the event coordinator. “Each of the families worked alongside us, and we could see that they were grateful for the help and very proud of their homes.”
Vina put together the event with Obama Works Twin Cities, the local chapter of national group dedicated to community service. The group takes its inspiration from Barack and his call to “be the change we seek.”
“We all wore Obama Works plackets and buttons and t-shirts, and were complimented on our work by neighbors passing by. And at the end, we helped the family stake an Obama sign in their yard!”
Obama Works Alexandria group is doing great work in Virginia. (A crucial swing state!) They were rained out on the National Day of Service, but that didn’t stop them for long; they came together today and put together a fantastic park cleanup. The below writeup is courtesy of Jill Murray:
On a perfect early fall morning, more than 20 energetic volunteers, inspired by Sen. Obama’s call to service, pitched in to clean up Jones Point Park Alexandria, VA on Sept. 20. Jones Point Park, the largest open space in the Old Town Historic area, encompasses 60 acres in the southeast corner of Alexandria, Virginia, at the site of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge. The Park is owned by the National Park Service and managed by the Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities. Because of the somewhat remote location along the Potomac River, it doesn’t receive some of the attention given to other open spaces in the city. Volunteers showed up with work gloves and enthusiasm for the event. The park is used primarily as a dog walking area and several regulars let us know what a great job we had done in beautifying the shoreline. What a great morning it was and what a terrific group of people answered the call to service.
A great event! Also make sure to check out our Day of Service page for similar wrapups of events that happened on the 6th as we post them.