Shelly Anderson is a beloved member of the community and longtime supporter of the Helping Our Hometown Grow program. She lost her husband of 35 years in November of 2009 and found herself in a state of despair, searching for a new cause to fill the empty time. In the spring of 2010, Shelly’s kids, volunteers with the HOHG program, encouraged her to come to one of the project sites. Because of some health issues, Shelly focused her efforts on providing water and snacks to the hungry workers. She quickly fell in love with the program. She said,”The first day I came to one of the program’s projects, I knew that I found my second family. Helping out gave me purpose and showed me happiness again after Tim passed away.” She accredits her continued enthusiasm to the enthusiasm she saw and continues to see in every one of the volunteers.

Since that first day, Shelly has continued to provide drinks and snacks at her own expense to the thirsty and hungry volunteers at every project site since the 2010 spring planting season. In a 2012 interview for the Ada Herald she said, “I just enjoy seeing all the good that the project does in the community. I’m glad to help out in any way I can.” In recent years, Shelly has even recruited her grandchildren to help out with the program by either helping plant or traveling around with her to the different job sites to hand out her treats. Her actions have rightly made her the unofficial mascot of the program.

Shelly has recently fallen ill and is now in the hospital. To show her our appreciation for her years of dedicated service and loyalty, we want to dedicate the 2016 Helping Our Hometown Grow Day to Shelly Anderson. We believe Shelly is a true model for the citizens of Ada and we want to thank her for her contributions to the community.

If you want to donate or volunteer to work in honor of Shelly, please register at turnipthebeets.com/hohg_registration. For more information on the program or HOHG Day, please visit our website at turnipthebeets.com/hohg.

The 2015 Helping Our Hometown Grow Day was a huge success. We helped over 15 families with our 50 volunteers. These families were located in the area around Ada, Ohio. The people that volunteered for the event ranged in age from an eight year old child to a 72 year old woman who helped with the planting of her garden. These 50 volunteers were very crucial to the success of the program. Here are a couple stories from volunteers that were at the event last year.

The first volunteer is Dante Jennings, (age 8), who helped plant a garden in his own neighborhood. Dante was so excited to help out in her community. We asked him about his experience. He said, “Planting gardens is so much fun. It is so much better than recess.” He was able to participate because he was with his parents. A person has to be at least 15 years old to participate without a parent.

Another person who volunteered last year was Kimberly Gross, (age 35), who was one of the group leaders. Her group was made up of all of her family members through three generations. She said, “I love spending time with my family. The fact that I can spend time with them while helping our community is simply amazing.” Spending quality family time is another positive that comes from this program.

Her mother, Dorothy Gross, (age 72), was the oldest person who volunteered but she sure was not the least active. She said, “I love seeing my children and grandchildren working together as a family. I’m surprised that they worked as hard as they did! We helped one of my friends from high school, so I was able to catch up with her as well.  It was such a successful day.”

Stories like these are why we want the program to keep growing. It is so beneficial to the community while making connections with many people. It’s amazing how much a program can grow in such a short amount of time.