After putting the Packwood Planters Community Garden on the back burner for a bit, I kicked myself into action and just dove in. The level of activity had been reduced to very circular-feeling talks about talking about doing. Our kid Ellie proved to be my primary motivator for not giving up. Ellie is incredibly opinionated and bright and has high (and reasonably so) expectations of AmeriCorps members. In the past, it sounded as though many in Packwood had done the bare quid-pro-quo and not really stretched the boundaries of what they were capable of bringing to the community. As was brought to the town by one of her favorite past members, Ellie wants innovation, engagement, new crafts and projects presented, strong and fun fundraising efforts, awareness of individual's needs and comfort at the Open Gym...things that any kid should want and things that we should be prepared to embark on. When Ellie got fired up about the garden from the get-go, I knew that I could not let it become a passing whimsy in the wind.
But it is hard here. There is a lot of initial enthusiasm for things that take effort. But when it comes down to it, people just don't show up. After frustrating discussions with the school, I gave up for a little while. But I was sick of reporting failed attempts and stalls to Ellie when she approached me with wide eyes day after day, asking how things were progressing. With no exciting answers, her voice would dip into monotone disappointment that seemed to be all too familiar with her.
And so, fall-throughs after fall-throughs, I finally went to talk to Fire Hall Directors Lonnie and Barb. They had lent out part of their property a few years ago for a garden attempt that had fallen through. It had been on the back burner because we weren't sure how open they would be to attempt number two but with one meeting, I had garnered permission. When Ellie heard the news, she was ready to race into the next step: a long-discussed talent show fundraiser. She was all about the public relations and had been wanting to get into promotion from the get-go, before we even had a direction. My cautious, meticulous planner side did not want to launch into something that would go to waste on a poorly thought-out plan but I knew we needed money to get any further. And so on that billionth time, when her eyes lit up to set a date for a show, I blurted "Okay! February 9th!" And the next day, she had fliers.
Well February 9th was a bit of a short notice, but it got me on the move. We pushed the date back a week to the 16th and set a meeting date, as I finally felt we had reason to do so. In the meantime, I continued to try and form something cohesive for the public to grasp onto when asked to throw money our way. I made a rough powerpoint and at the beginning of the month, I met with Loren, a recently retired teacher settling into full-time vacation in Packwood. Loren had taken on the role of business-savvy mentor for our group, having done a student community garden in Tacoma during his career. He had a blunt, no-fooling-around way of getting to the core of what was needed. Under the rough edges though, he was soft-hearted and willing to help in any way he could. He reviewed the slides of my powerpoint and pointed out where I needed to make it stronger to garner public enthusiasm. He advised me on what details I needed to have and what could be left unsaid as we continued to work out kinks. We planned out the math for wood that we would need for three beds of various sizes and he took on the task of talking to our local ACE and ARROW lumber to try and secure donations.
That is when things took off.
I perfected my presentation and tested it out on the elder folk at the senior center which proved to be a very friendly and receptive group. I went full into talent recruiting mode. My excitement boosted when I heard that our pastor Lynn Longfield had told the Packwood Improvement Club (PIC) about the project and garnered a $200 donation for us. Ellie's mom Sarah employed her garden expertise and met with me at the property one day to figure out what crops we could grow. By the time we had our final meeting before the show, we had a package that the community could get behind.
Loren had gotten the ay-okay on wood for three 2x12x4-foot raised beds. Sarah had made a professional draft of crop layout and would buy our seeds for Lou to start at the schools greenhouse that he had been fixing up. Everyone at the meeting knew someone they could ask about performing in our show. Ellie, fixed on fundraising, suggested we put donation jars up around businesses and ask for contributions to build raffle baskets for the event.
By the 16th, we had a substantial line-up and even a few surprise calls trickling in. Bruce, a man I'd met at the senior center, called just the day before and asked if he could be in even though he was an amateur. I was thrilled. We now had kids, professional musicians and elder community members partaking. Ellie's music teacher Paul Hanson shuttled in his whole PA system and from ACE, Lee Grosse lent out his popcorn machine. I had written up donation letters to businesses and received enough items to build two nice "Packwood Baskets" for a raffle. As the event drew closer, I became more and more nervous about turn out. For our best chances though, I couldn't show any doubt and by the end of the week, I felt my shameless promotion had a backing to it.
I made official programs, got balloons from the gift store, and asked Ellie to bring down neon duct tape to make a big sign along the building.
On the last night of Open Gym that week, we cleared the stage. The day of, I arrived to the gym two hours early to start setting up with the help of Mackensie, Nora, Alice, Corey, Mary, Ellie, her sister and Sarah. Paul was next to arrive with his equipment and we transformed the building into a performance hall. When 3:30 rolled around, I was nervous. People were trickling in but I realized I had put 4pm as the start but had not suggested a "doors open" time so I had no idea when and if people would turn out. The heat in the gym was being finicky as usual and people were starting to comment on the cold. I didn't want them to have to wait too long to get the show started.
I couldn't have asked for a more amazing outcome. About an hour and a half of talent and over $400 dollars of donations later, I thanked a wildly satisfied audience for coming. Before everyone rose fromt their chairs, Mary jumped up to grab the mic and offered a surprising public statement of thanks to me that planted a huge grin on my face. As people left, I got a lot of feedback that expressed eagerness for many more talent shows in the future and for days to come, I heard these sentiments wherever I went.
And so February's efforts concluded with huge support for an even busier month ahead, as we get our hands on supplies and begin to build!
(Stay tuned for a video of the Talent Show, hopefully to come soon!)
For the full scoop on the Packwood Planters garden project, check out Our snazzy website and our equally snazzy facebook page!
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