Rotary gives ‘labor’ of love at Grandma’s House
The Bend-Mt. Bachelor Rotary Club recently completed a community service project to create a vegetable garden, yard and walking path, known as the “labor walk,” for Grandma’s House, a Bend non-profit providing shelter to homeless and/or abused pregnant and parenting mothers ages 12 to 19.
The tasks included clearing the land of debris and weeds, digging ditches, laying irrigation pipe, constructing raised vegetable garden beds and retaining walls, laying bricks and spreading gravel for paths, spreading topsoil and bark mulch, and laying sod.
The property now has the infrastructure needed so that the girls and volunteers can grow vegetables, herbs and other plants.
The 7,000 square-foot backyard has been an unusable space, covered with tumbleweeds and other grasses and weeds. Plans for a garden and walking path were developed in 2007 but quickly crashed along with the economy.
Seven years later, the Mt. Bachelor Rotary Club saw the need and recognized the potential for leveraging club funds, Grandma’s House funds, and grant money from Rotary District 5110.
It started last fall, when the Mt. Bachelor Rotary club visited Grandma’s House to help celebrate the completion of the kitchen addition and remodel. While admiring the new addition, it was hard to miss the disheveled back yard. Woody Madeiros, executive director, expressed her dreams for a garden and “labor walk” in the back yard.
Following the meeting, Dave Latimer, said “Why can’t our club do this? We have enough volunteers to make this happen.” The Local Community Service Chair, Lloyd McGriff, agreed and work began to write the grant and gather supporters and donors.
A total of 39 volunteers worked throughout the month of April to complete the project in just under 350 volunteer hours.
A number of individuals and organizations stepped up with donations of supplies and equipment, including Superior Tractor & Equipment, Instant Landscaping, Miller Irrigation, Miller Lumber and Shelly Hummel.
The resident teen mothers and children at Grandma’s House will benefit from the project, as well as up to 100 “Angels,” graduates of Grandma’s House who still rely on the nurturing and support of the Grandma’s House volunteers, as well as resources such as food and baby supplies.
Grandma’s House of Central Oregon is a faith based, non-denominational, non-profit home and outreach center, providing safe, nurturing, and stable shelter to homeless and/or abused pregnant and parenting teen mothers between the ages of 12 to 19 years old and their babies. Rotary International is an international service organization, represented by over 34,000 clubs in over 120 countries. Learn more at: www.grandmashouseofcentraloregon.org or www.mtbachelorrotary.org.
