March 29, 2018

Garden

At any age, gardening is one of the best activities we can do outdoors. It stimulates all the senses, awakens our connection with nature and with our companions, and rewards us with fresh flowers and nutritious fruits and vegetables.

Through funding from New York City Food collaboration with Shorefront JCC, we were able to use space in the back of The Leader Family Food Pantry to create a community Garden for our seniors. The project originally started in April when a group of volunteers from RAJE came to help clear out the space and set up planting beds for seniors.

Since then, we are excited to report that our seniors have been getting together every two weeks to plant, clean and maintain this amazing garden. Presently, our seniors are growing tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, celery, and grapes alongside lilies and daisies.

Gardening is an excellent way for seniors to socialize and get a moderate-intensity aerobic workout and stay flexible.

I was the first member of my family to come to the United States. I was told by friends who had come before me that I could get help with applying for a green card and getting papers for my family to join me at SJCC. I was worried at first because most agencies that provide this service charge for it. I was happy to find out that not only did SJCC help free of charge they also helped me apply for a fee waiver so I would not need to pay the fees for the applications. With the help of SJCC I was able to get my green card and later finalized my citizenship documents. My wife and children soon joined me as well. Today my children are all in college and graduate school and have been able to thrive because of the support we got from SJCC.

D.K.