Capital University Volunteers Support Community Garden Benefiting Lincoln Park Neighborhood

Capital University will partner with Barack Community Recreation Center, Columbus City Schools, Whole Foods Market and Franklin Park Conservatory to support a community garden, cooking and nutrition program benefiting the Lincoln Park community.

There will be a community kickoff celebration and workday in the garden, located at Lincoln Park Elementary School, 579 E. Markison Ave., in Columbus, on Wednesday, May 9.

The community garden is an offshoot of Capital University President Denvy A. Bowman’s Empathy Experiment, an intense, eight-week social change initiative that pairs a select group of students with community partners who immerse students in a relevant social issue to explore whether empathy can be taught and what are the effects. This year’s experiment focused on nutrition in America. Capital partnered with Columbus City Schools, Columbus Public Health and Whole Foods Market to guide students through a firsthand study of how nutrition impacts their organizations.

“This is a natural extension of the relationship we have with our Empathy Experiment community partners, and it clearly illustrates our shared values — collaboration, service, and motivation to act and improve our community,” Bowman said.

During the kickoff celebration, volunteers from Capital University, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Community Development for All People and Barack Community Recreation Center will plant and work in the garden with students from Lincoln Park Elementary School from 10 am to 1:30 pm. At 2 p.m., a brief presentation will be given in the gymnasium on how the garden and nutrition program will work.

Volunteers will work in the garden on a weekly basis through the fall, and produce will be harvested as needed and given to the community. Whole Foods Market will offer free cooking and nutrition classes in June, July and August to community members using food harvested from the garden. Anyone interested in volunteering to help with the garden should email empathy@capital.edu.

Located in the Columbus, Ohio, neighborhood of Bexley, Capital University is a private, four-year undergraduate institution and graduate school. Capital prepares students for meaningful lives and purposeful careers through a relevant liberal arts core curriculum and deep professional programs. Influenced by its Lutheran heritage, Capital places great emphasis on the free and open exchange of ideas, seeking out diverse perspectives, active participation in society, leadership and service. With a focus on rigor and experiential learning, the University capitalizes on its size, location, and heritage to develop the whole person, both inside and outside the classroom.  

 

Visuals:

10 am to 1:30 pm
Capital students and staff join elementary school students and volunteers from Barack Community Recreation Center, Columbus City Schools, Whole Foods Market, Franklin Park Conservatory and Nationwide Children’s Center to lay soil, mulch and plant seeds for a community garden.

2 pm
Brief program and remarks about the partners, garden, and how it will work.