Madison Therapists Create Volunteerism Nonprofit that Instills Connectedness Among Youth

By Jackie Schatell

After coming out of the pandemic, where many of us were feeling disconnected, two Madison moms, who are therapists, Katie Holtzman Hearn and Tricia Jessen came up with a plan to help youth feel more connected, not just to other youth, but to humanitarian causes as well. In the fall, with an inaugural group of students, they established The Grove, which is a group-based service program for youth (5-18 years). Participants gain valuable hands-on volunteer experiences with prominent local non-profits, in both dynamic multi-week servicelearning workshops and standalone service events facilitated by experts in the field. The non-profits address needs such as: food insecurity, foster care, homelessness, mental and physical health instability, and environmental issues.

According to the women, youth don’t always know how to go about finding volunteer opportunities. “With The Grove they will learn how to assess and act on community needs through meaningful volunteer experiences,” says Katie. “They will also grow personally and intellectually as they strengthen their communication, leadership and teamwork skills.”

The program allows youth to work together with a common goal. Katie and Tricia share that the reason for doing activities in a group is for the participants to feel a sense of connectedness with peers, which improves the overall experience and engagement.

In addition, they say that often parents do the heavy lifting when kids get involved with volunteering. For instance, they may buy the food for their child to donate to a food pantry. In contrast, The Grove empowers youth to actively and consciously engage in service through a curriculum that centers on: empathy, leadership development, team building and community engagement.

“The more hands on the kids are, the more they will gain,” says Tricia.

In September and October, the first group to go through The Grove focused on food insecurity while working with two nonprofits – America’s Grow a Row farm in Pittstown and nourish. NJ. In addition, during November and December, The Grove partnered with local Madison businesses Stitch, Alfred’s, and Healthy Italia. With Stitch, The Grove ran a successful clothing drive for Madison’s Dress for Success. In Healthy Italia’s kitchen, 60 4th-8th graders cooked 200 servings of soup for Meals on

Wheels of Madison. And in partnership with Alfred’s, The Grove collected sports equipment for a Newark community in need.

To kick off the new year and honor Martin Luther King’s legacy of service, The Grove will be offering two service events on MLK day, one at Crafted and one at Healthy Italia. Additionally, The Grove is partnering with CASA, an organization that supports children in foster care, for their late-winter multiweek service program.

“We want to empower the youth to make a lasting impact on the community,” says Katie.

For more information go to thegroveproject.com.

If you know someone that goes above and beyond, send an email to jackie.subessex@gmail.com