Volunteering at MJCG

Let's Grow Together

Whether you're interested in volunteering for the day or want to make it a regular thing, we don't have a sign-up. You just SHOW UP! 

Every Saturday morning between late April to late October from 9:00–1:00, we are open and doing something you can jump in on. Just walk in from either side (54th Street or 51st Street between 31 and 32 Avenues) and say that you are a NEW VOLUNTEER and you'll get introduced to some folks, get some gardening gloves, and dive right in.

WHAT WILL I DO?

What to expect task-wise? (some are great for little ones; marked with a J for junior)

• Chop up food scraps into 'compost salsa' J

• Pick up trash from our sidewalk garden J

• Aerate our compost bins J

• Learn how to process our food scraps (12 noon–1:00 pm after collection stops) J

• Weed, weed, weed 

• Pair gardening gloves after they've been laundered J

• Cleaning and organizing tools

• Creating/feeding our paca digestora or moving the paca to a new location

• Organizing/curating our Little Free Library 

• Keeping our Free Pantry clean and organized 

• Special projects may include: organize sheds, sand/protect furniture, etc.

Tasks that take some orientation to learn:

• Harvest vegetables and herbs (once there's something to harvest) J

• Plant new things as the opportunity presents itself throughout the growing season

• Watering the entire property (this we do have a SIGN-UP sheet for; inquire about getting added to it once you learn the ropes)

• Special projects may include: trellising the tomatoes, pruning fruit trees/shrubs, mowing cemetery lawn, etc.

WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE

Our community garden is not set up where one person or family has their own garden bed or space. We all grow together, thus the tagline/motto. When there is a harvest later in the season, we 'pay' our volunteers for the day with produce, and the rest gets shared with our community. What we grow and where we grow it is planned out by a core set of volunteers over the winter months and executed in late April/early May. We don't require a commitment but hope you'll return if you enjoyed your time with us.

OUTSIDE of GARDENING/COMPOSTING

Besides the gardening, composting, and general maintenance tasks listed above, there are more behind-the-scenes responsibilities that we also need help with:

• Grantwriting

• Event Planning

• Communications (website updating/design, social media posting, newsletter, etc.)

• Community Outreach (partnerships, connections, local business donations, etc.)

• Accounting for nonprofits

CHILDREN/STUDENTs

Our volunteer age generally starts at 2, but please note that all children under 13 years of age should be accompanied by an adult. We cannot be responsible for children's whereabouts. This is not a dropoff site. We do have a sandbox but we are not babysitting. Volunteer tasks for children that are highlighted above may be handed out by a Core Volunteer but parents will have to guide them as we don't always have dedicated volunteers to stay with you the whole time.

Students needing community service hours for school or otherwise are welcome to log their hours with us as long as they are actively working on tasks that we assign to them.