Planting Seeds of Change
“We all yell for change, but when you are directly making that happen, you know that you are doing your part.”
As the Community Outreach Coordinator at Gahanna Community Congregational Church, Lisa Hartsell’s project has been to build the capacity of her site’s Daily Bread Produce Garden and volunteer program. To expand the garden’s infrastructure, Lisa has both identified relevant grants and brought in fundraising dollars. Through these efforts, she has successfully increased the garden’s accessibility for people with developmental disabilities. Lisa has also played an important role in developing her site’s volunteer program by implementing new systems for recruitment, communication, record keeping, and recognition.
Although volunteer recruitment has sometimes proved a challenge, Lisa has learned important lessons of persistence and creativity in her outreach efforts. Throughout her service, she has worked tirelessly to connect and form partnerships with community members and groups who share her site’s interests and values.
Through her efforts to bring in donations and train others to do the same, Lisa feels that she has made a lasting change at her site. She also believes her work to increase the capacity of the garden will directly impact poverty in the community. Lisa is grateful for the opportunity afforded by VISTA service to learn skills that are not taught in schools. Following the completion of her term, she hopes to enter a second year of service to continue making an impact in the community!
“We all yell for change,” Lisa says, “but when you are directly making that happen, you know that you are doing your part.”
Thanks for your service, Lisa!
