Youth Internship Program — Week 4: Reflections on Commitment

Whoaaa, we’re halfway there! Last week marked the midpoint of Green Heart’s very first summer Youth Internship Program, and our crews were hard at work learning about biodiversity & insects; analyzing food labels and whipping up a seasonal succotash with CCSD Nutrition Services’ Registered Dietitian Kerrie; and making some serious progress building raised beds at the Urban Farm. Read on to hear all about it in the words of Jayvon, our featured intern of the week, as he reflects on Commitment, among other topics!

BIO

Jayvon Ford is a rising 10th grader at Burke High School who likes to play basketball and joke around. He joined Green Heart because he wanted to have an outdoors job and see how it feels to work in the Green Heart gardens.

REFLECTING ON COMMITMENT

Commitment to me is a promise that you make come true. An example I think of from The Green Heart Program is a commitment to keeping my mask on if you are not 6 feet away from someone. I also think about the commitment to building the urban farm this summer. We show this by getting everyone to help put out signs around the Enston Home. I want to get the farm done and keep helping with the build. A personal commitment I made during straight talk is to make a list of everything I need to do to stay prepared for the week. I am working on this everyday and am committed to it. – Jayvon F

ADDITIONAL CREW MEMBER REFLECTIONS & EXCERPTS

A commitment that I made this week was to just try to help the community anyway I can. Making the urban farm could be a sustainable source of fresh food for the community and I think that it is amazing being able to work on a project like this. -John Paul G

Commitment is important in a job because you have to come into that job with your game face and work through things you probably don’t like or don’t wanna do, but when you say you’re committed you are putting it out there for yourself and your team that you’re gonna be there working hard to get the task done. A characteristic of a good employee is a person that comes to work ready and prepared with a good attitude. I want to commit to continue my method of educating people about how the earth is not in good shape and getting it back to what we love and know…. -Aaron J

When I think of commitment, I think of Assata Shakur’s chant. I think of abolition and grassroots organizations and Mariame Kaba. I think of Angela Y. Davis and how her books have impacted my soul. I think of collective liberation and how we all have nothing to lose but our chains. I am committed to the journeys of self love and healing and unlearning things that don’t serve me. I am committed to resting and leaning. Leaning into trust. Leaning into happiness. -sage B

Staying committed to the Farm Stand through hot days and mild exhaustion means people in the neighborhood I once lived near will have access to clean food that is affordable and will positively impact their health. One of my new commitments is to try to work towards being zero waste (or at least as close to that as I can by living with other people) and start to compost and educate other people on how they can be personally responsible for their waste and climate impact. -Z D