In Evanston, numerous community service organizations cater to high school students. Wildkits participate in community service for college applications, the National Honor Society, or just to become more involved in the community. Community service is a great way to give back to the world and make a positive impact as well as develop teamwork skills. One notable community service organization in Evanston is Evanston Grows.
Evanston Grows is a community network that was founded in April 2021. They work with community gardens and non-profits. There are over 18 city gardens and 5 school gardens, which include Nichols Middle School, Joseph E. Hill Childhood Center, Oakton Elementary School, Dawes Elementary School, and ETHS. Evanston Grows plants and donates crops, and occasionally offers volunteering for Evanston teenagers.
Certain items are recommended for you to bring when volunteering, such as closed-toe shoes, sunscreen, hats, garden gloves, and clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. But many of the gardening tools will be provided, such as cultivators, rakes, and hoses.
“Evanston Grows grows lots of different kinds of crops, some examples are peppers, squash, carrots, chives, and potatoes,” notes senior Eliza Hogan, an Evanston Grows volunteer.
Evanston Grows helps supply the community with food for the people who need it, making the community stronger. They harvest the crops anywhere between April and October. The peak of harvesting is in June through September. After the crops are harvested, they are distributed to local churches, pantries, and free farmstands, allowing food drives and community fridges to be stocked.
Many students are involved with Evanston Grows. At ETHS, there are students involved with gardening programs, which helps Evanston Grows maintain its many gardens. There are also a variety of different opportunities to get involved during the summer. The summer is the best time to work with Evanston Grows due to it being peak harvest season at each garden.
“I liked helping pick and plant different crops and vegetables. When working with Evanston Grows, I got to learn about agriculture and how to grow different types of produce and how the produce was given out to the community,” stated senior and Evanston Grows volunteer, Kaia Jalakas.
These volunteer opportunities are able to teach teenagers the importance of creating and providing produce to the community and how substantial it is for the community to be given.
As Evanston Grows continues to grow, more teenagers have been encouraged to get more involved. For ETHS students, it is very easy to get involved with Evanston Grows. When visiting their website, you can select dates for specific community hours at each garden, and most of these services last anywhere from one to three hours. These hours will contribute as volunteering hours for certain events, clubs, and awards at ETHS. Students can also help and volunteer with the food pantries, and help stock the community fridges that are involved with either faith-based or public-based services.
