4
Aound Town
July 10, 2019 • Community News – St. Louis County • www.mycnews.com
Summer Volunteer Guide available for youth looking to give back United Way of Greater St. Louis launched its free Family Summer Volunteer Guide, a valuable online tool with dozens of volunteer possibilities for children, youth, families and individuals. The guide can be found at www.stlvolunteer.org/syg. “The Family Summer Volunteer Guide is a great resource for anyone who is looking for meaningful ways to give back to others and to our community during the summer,” said Rick Skinner, vice president of United Way’s Volunteer Center. “Volunteering is a fun opportunity for families and young people to come together and have a lasting impact.” All of the opportunities listed are through reputable nonprofit agencies throughout the St. Louis area region. There are a wide array of opportunities that users can narrow down through location, age and keyword to find the one that best fits their passion. Current example opportu-
nities include cleaning debris from local streams and waterways, preparing and serving hot meals to cancer patients, assisting with crafts and activities at a camp for children with disabilities, and help with garden and landscaping work for an organization serving families in need. In addition to onsite volunteer opportunities, the Summer Volunteer Guide includes 15 doit-yourself projects that children, parents and groups can put together at anytime, anywhere to make a difference in the community, like flood relief boxes, first aid kits, and backpacks for kids in foster care. Volunteering is not only a way to give back to the community, but also helps build leadership skills and boost self-esteem, especially for youth. United Way’s Volunteer Center is the second oldest Volunteer Center in the nation and offers year-round opportunities for all ages at www. stlvolunteer.org.
Students learn farm-to-table lessons thanks to Seeds of Hope Farm
www.byerlyrv.com
Larimore Elementary students learning at Seeds of Hope Farm on June 25
Students at Larimore Elementary School are learning about the science behind what they eat and how it can help a community. More than 20 fourth-grade students are spending part of their summer school coursework learning about the farm-to-table process from volunteers at the Seeds of Hope Farm in Spanish Lake. Seeds of Hope Farm helps increase access to affordable, fresh produce through community-supported agriculture, along with supporting community garden groups and providing education. The hands-on science lessons include measuring plants and understanding how they grow and learning about soil types and what supports
Photo courtesy Ferguson-Florissant School District
growth. Many of the volunteers are UMSL students who provide the lesson plans and lead the hands-on demonstrations. Students help plant a variety of vegetables including onions, tomatoes, carrots, and kale, and will help harvest the crops later in the summer. As part of their last day of summer school, students and Seeds of Hope volunteers will use part of the harvest to prepare a meal for the class to enjoy, while the rest is provided to the community. Seeds of Hope Farm is a project of the non-profit Community Action Agency of St. Louis County.
