On March 7th, members of the True Blue Student Coalition met at Grassroots Garden on Coburg Road to participate in some community service. The light rain and overcast skies did little to dampen the enthusiasm of True Blue candidates eager to give back to the Eugene community. Grassroots Garden grows over 60,000 pounds of food annually for Food for Lane County, and we were happy to help out in any way possible.
On this day, the help entailed breaking down mountains of compost, made up of manure and leaves, and packing this compost into trenches that lined areas where food will be planted in the spring. The down and dirty work was incredibly gratifying, mostly due to the knowledge that the work being done would directly benefit people in the Eugene area. The garden was operated by an incredibly enthusiastic group of folks who were giving up their weekends to help better the community.
Halfway through the workday, we were treated to a delicious homemade lunch, complete with soups, breads, desserts, and various other delectable delicacies. This only added to the experience and energized the group as they prepared for more work ahead.
By the end of the day, we were covered in manure, but also filled with a great sense of passion for what we had done. Grassroots Garden is one of many organizations that do great things for the Eugene community. The time spent there was certainly time well spent.
The True Blue Student Coalition believes that student engagement in this type of service is essential for the betterment of the university and the community as a whole. As elected representatives in the ASUO, we will create an easy and effective way to seek out these types of activities via the ASUO website so that any student interested in helping out with various community organizations will have a way to find out about everything that is going on around Eugene.
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