Hope Blooms
"Hope Blooms" Community Greenhouse Mural Project
This project will involve 33 youth, their support persons including guardians, parents, siblings, community mentors, St Patrick's Church community members, St Georges Youth Net, St Patrick's Alexandra School, Joseph Howe School, youth leaders from the Black Business Initiative, and the North End Community Health Centre. St Patrick's Church has a large hall adjacent to the greenhouse and has donated this space to all art activities, as well the hall in St Georges' Church which is home to St Georges' Youth Net. Marvin Nelligan, an artist who grew up in this community, will be working with youth and community members on a mural at the entrance of the greenhouse. A celebratory event is being planned for late April, with entertainment (music, dancing) with the youth who will also be performing.
Additional information about Hope Blooms:
The garden, newly constructed greenhouse, and salad dressing business, "Hope Blooms", are under the North End Community Health Center's registered charity, as all profits go into a scholarship fund for inner city youth. This is a youth-driven initiative: the youth are major decision makers at all levels, from choosing what to grow to attending "board meetings" to developing and taking their homemade salad dressings to market, the youth are decision makers every step of the way. The youth are also at the centre of all media attention, not the adult leaders. The youth are also community capacity builders as they are conducting intergenerational activities and learning experiences for community members through the garden, greenhouse and Hope Blooms social enterprise.
http://cfns.ca/pages/documents/HopeBlooms.pdf