Growing Community Through Gardening

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Caryle Snyder. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. 

Community gardens have gained popularity over the years. They benefit many people, including those learning about agricultural practices as well as those needing access to fresh produce. It requires a lot of effort, but Caryle Snyder, 80-year-old retired OB nurse practitioner, is used to pitching in. When her grandkids were young, she’d pick them up from school and watch them until their parents came home before leaving to work the midnight shift. 

Caryle has also been volunteering with Heart + Hand Outreach Ministries for nearly a decade, doing her part to drive programs like the community garden benefitting the organization’s food pantry. She’s had a hand in creating an heirloom seed library, running their clothing closet and maintaining her church’s landscaping. This grandmother of five knows it takes a village and dedicates her time to helping out hers. 

What inspires you to volunteer? 

My husband got me started. He got involved and then got me down there. When they bought a new building, I started by helping them paint. One thing led to another, and it went from painting to supplying the store to working with the clothes to working with the food pantry. And we did food baskets for kids in middle school.  

Tell us about your volunteer role with Heart + Hand Outreach Ministries. 

About 10 or 12 years ago, the church decided to build a little community garden. A few of us decided we wanted to participate, so we got together and put up a fence. Everybody had a basic plot or plots, however many you wanted. Through the years, people stopped. There were plots available, and we were working with Heart + Hand, so we decided to let them have the unused plots. That’s how they got involved. 

Now, it’s mostly raised beds on less than a quarter of an acre next to our church parking lot. We just got through digging potatoes, and we have a plot of corn the raccoons have gotten into. We’re getting beans, corn, squash, cucumbers, and we’ll have tomatoes. They’re beginning to ripen now. 

We also started a seed library using an old card catalog. In the early spring, we put seeds in, and they are free for anyone who wants them. We just ask that they help keep it replenished by bringing back seeds from what they grow. And I manage the landscaping around our old stone church. 

How many community garden volunteers do you have?  

We had a lot early in the spring. A group of college students came down on a bus, and we’ve had several groups of high school kids. They dug potatoes for us. All the kids that have come really seemed to have enjoyed it. I think it’s fun for them to see different things grow. Last year, when we were starting, we had kids help us put the raised beds together. We had some stuff growing up there in the late summer and early fall, and they asked, “What’s that?”. They didn’t know what asparagus looked like before being harvested.  

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization? 

We’re hoping to put up more raised beds and grow a few more things that we haven’t had this year, but we’re just going to have to try and see. It’s hard to believe when you have a fenced in garden that’s 12 feet high that raccoons can get in. 

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work? 

People can get what they really need. Heart + Hand even pays utilities for certain people. We can cover just about anything. Right now, we’re getting ready to give out school bags. 

In October, we have a Walk for Hunger. The money raised helps buy food for people. We have a store. When someone’s house has burned or something has happened to them where they don’t have money, they can come in and pick out clothes. We sell furniture. We give away furniture. We take old furniture. We’re always picking up furniture or clothing or whatever it is. If somebody really needs something in our area, we can provide it.  

Right now, I’m concentrating on the garden, but around October, I’ll probably be doing clothing or school bags. I won’t just quit when growing season is over.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer? 

I’ve learned how close people in need actually are. I’ve seen people come from around our church, and you would never dream of it. It surprises me about how people are living. It doesn’t always show outwardly. Working there, I’ve also learned what you can give away and what you can’t. 

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about? 

It makes the person doing it feel better, but it also helps the person in need. 

What do you want people to learn from your story? 

In volunteering, you’re volunteering your services, but you’re learning at the same time. And you’re helping lots of different people in many different ways. You’ll be happier for it.  

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Caryle? Find local volunteer opportunities.