Community Growth

Pittsburgh Health Corps members at Grow Pittsburgh Community Garden

Community service is a powerful thing. Volunteering in a community can bring about tangible changes that the community can benefit from, it can influence the environment and culture of that neighborhood, and it can inspire others to become more involved in the place where they live. That is one reason I joined the Pittsburgh Health Corps: to give back to the community where I lived, learned, and grew into a socially responsible adult. Moreover, I wanted to get to know my city intimately through serving in neighborhoods and with people I had yet to meet.

Two important facets of the Pittsburgh Health Corps are team building and community involvement. Each month, we take a day away from our host sites when we come together as a team and volunteer on a community project. This month we were able to go to the neighborhood of Homewood and volunteer with Grow Pittsburgh in their community garden.  Grow Pittsburgh started the community garden, so the children attending Faison Elementary School could learn about planting fruits and vegetables and about the importance of eating natural and healthy foods. We were so excited to have the opportunity to revitalize their garden!

Afterwards, we took a short walk through Homewood to a newly constructed playground. The short five minute walk highlighted the blight of this neighborhood. We witnessed houses in disrepair, abandoned buildings, the lack of green spaces, no shopping nearby, and few people on the streets. Once at the playground, we learned that a local foundation provided funding for those living in Homewood to come together, bra

instorm the features of their playground, and implement their plans to create a safe place where their children could play. This brings me to a very important lesson I have learned in my two service terms with Pittsburgh Health Corps: in performing community service, the people of that community should be involved in the project so they take pride in the work done and continue to utilize the services available for them! Without community buy-in, the amazing outcomes that serving the community brings about become unsustainable as the responsibility then falls on the outside groups.

Speaking of community involvement, we finished up our day at the Early Learning HUB of Homewood, a community learning center where early childhood educators, parents, and families can find the resources they need to provide their children with the best possible early childhood experiences. We had so much fun helping out Cynthia and her center that a few members even came back the following weekend when it wasn’t raining to finish painting the fence!

Every month I look forward to volunteering in the community outside of my host site. It gives me time to see my fellow Health Corps members and connect about our experiences from the past month, involve community members in service opportunities, make an impact in a Pittsburgh community, and help others reach their project goals!

Trevor taking a well deserved break from cleaning