November Extended Newsletter

Introducing Our GreenCorps Member

Hi my name is Sam Mockert! I am a GreenCorps member with Urban Roots. This means I am responsible for increasing the capacity of Urban Roots in a specific area. From this September to the end of next July, I will be helping Urban Roots increase our community outreach efforts to extend more broadly into the adult population in our community, and generally increase the reach and scope of the programs that we offer.

For these first few weeks, I have been immersing myself in the essence of Urban Roots; what we do as a program and what we offer to the community. I have helped with the Free Tree program that gave away 25 trees this year, met partners and planted the seeds for further community engagement, and started to gain connections with some of the youth interns that make the program what it is.

What I have learned is that Urban Roots is an exceptional resource for young people on the East Side, and many lives and paths have been shaped and changed for the better. Additionally, I believe that there is no reason that the meaningful, formative experiences that people have with us should be limited to just those who participate in our internship program, or who are just in a specific age group. I look forward to working in and with the community in order to create a more sustainable future for ourselves and for the next generation.