Thank you for supporting GRuB in its efforts to improve the lives of disadvantaged youths. Joe, a 17 year old member of GRuB, is deeply thankful for your contributions. Your altruism, Ojus and Joseph, bettered his life as you can read in his story below.

Hello, my name is Joe. I am 17 and a senior in high school as well as a proud  member of the GRuB family. I started GRuB over the summer as a way to earn school credit, so that I could graduate this year. However, what I gained from GRuB was much greater than just school credit. It gave me a sense of being able to help my community and a true family.

One of the many great moments at GRuB was when the staff let the youth lead the farm by themselves for a week. This really tested our crew — boundaries were crossed and we began to sense that the trust we had built up all summer was slowly diminishing. This was the first and only time I felt unsure of my want to be at the farm. After the week was up and our tensions hit their peak we had a debrief. Gradually, everyone began to spill their heart out, letting the group know what was up for them. There was a sense of vulnerability because we all had shared this experience together. This moment opened a door and allowed us to come together — closer than ever before.

This opened my eyes because so much of the time at the GRuB farm we are all cheerful and excited to be here. Sometimes it takes a little tension to help build a crew and allow them to come together. A true test of a crew is not how well we can work together in good spirits but how we are able to come together in bad. GRuB School works for me because I share moments with grubbers I wouldn’t share during traditional school. I feel supported by not only the staff but the students too. I wish that everyone had a chance to feel the passion i do about going to school and about helping my community.

GRuB has inspired me to better myself not only on an educational level, but on a personal level. The next step for me is to not just continue to grab my gloves and shovel but bring my words and hopes to inspire others to see the beauty in this foundation I have grown to love.

Thank you, Ojus and Joseph, for supporting GRuB and helping them inspire Joe and others like him!

Thank you all for supporting GRuB as they work to inspire personal and community change in Mason and Thurston Counties of Washington State. Katie is 16 and hopes to own her own farm one day. Thanks to your contributions, her hope and experience are growing exponentially. Here is Katie’s story that she wished to share with you:

My name is Katie. I’m 16 years old and am currently enrolled in the GRuB School program. In my lifetime, I’ve always known that I wanted to make a difference, but it wasn’t until I came to GRuB that I figured out how I could do it.

One day, it hit me. When I grow up, I’m going to have my own farm… so that I can teach kids the importance of sustainability and the joy of knowing where your food comes from, just like GRuB has done for me. So, being super excited with myself, I went off to tell my mom, and my uncle, and my grandpa. They weren’t quite as enthused as I had thought they would be. “…Ummm… ok Katie… that’s going to be quite the task, you know that, right?”

Then I came to GRuB. Since my own family seemed doubtful, I was nervous to talk about what I was thinking, but then the perfect opportunity came up for me to tell Blue about my master plan, and I went for it. Unlike my family’s reactions, Blue, the Youth Programs Director at GRuB, was ecstatic and really helped me feel like my dream could become reality.

Because of GRuB School, I know that I have support for even the most outrageous of my hopes and dreams. I would love to watch GRuB expand across the globe in my lifetime, not only so that I could have a greater chance at living my dream, but also so that other kids like me can embrace the rich earth in their hands and get dirty with smiles on their faces.

Thanks again, Joel, Sherri, Laura, and Jessie for letting GRuB help Katie become a strong-willed individual.

Thank you all for supporting GRuB as they work to inspire personal and community change in Mason and Thurston Counties of Washington State. Your contributions provided Robbie with a week of drop-out prevention. Here is his story:

Hi, my name is Robbie. I’m 17 years old and I go to GRuB School. I’ve been in GRuB since last summer and I will verify with complete honesty that it was the best summer of my life. If I had to pick one moment that changed my outlook on life it would have to be my work with the volunteers.

Every Wednesday, or as we often called it, “Crazy Wednesday,” people from the community would come to our farm and work with us. One day it was considered hot by Washington folk, a blazing 75 degrees. We had a bed we were weeding, so of course my first time working with the volunteers it had to be right by our resident bee hive. Apparently one of the volunteers got too close to the hive and the bees became aggressive. At the time, I was only paying attention to filling up my bucket full of weeds. I looked up to the horrific sight of a volunteer frantically flailing her arms about. Since this was my first time with volunteers, I really had never seen this before. I didn’t know what to think. I asked her, “what’s wrong? Did you eat some rotten raspberries?” She screamed: “There’s something in my hair — get it out get it out!” I had never been stung before, so I was a little hesitant, but I couldn’t let her get stung, so I flicked it out. The bee immediately came after me so I smacked it out of the air. Following this event, a swarm attacked our team, but we managed to make it out unscathed.

The woman I saved  was extremely grateful that day. I didn’t just save someone from getting stung, I took on leadership and compassion. Since working at GRuB, I use those strengths every day and it’s helped me become an outgoing, extroverted farm boy that cares for others and pays attention to feelings. I feel these attributes would have gone unnoticed if it wasn’t for that day, the work we do with diverse volunteers, and the knowledge GRuB has given me. Her being in danger brought out the kindness in me.

From everyone at GRuB, thank you Anne, Trevor, Heather, Bethany and Maxim for helping to bring out the kindness in Robbie!

Thank you all for supporting GRuB. Because of your contributions, Dayquan, a 17 year old that wanted to better his life, was able to do so with his GRuB community. Here is Dayquan’s story of how GRuB became his family:

Hello, my name is Dayquan. I am 17 years old and I’m a crew member at the GRuB farm. I am going to tell you about a moment at GRuB that meant a lot to me. Upon arriving at GRuB I was a very judgmental person who was insecure with myself and very misguided.

While meeting the crew I was going be working with, I saw some familiar faces and some not so familiar faces, but what you’ve heard or what you see doesn’t define a person. I was reluctant to go up and say hi to people, thinking, “I was rude to these people and picked on them for years.” And, “after all this time are they willing to forgive me?”

Despite the discouraging thoughts I went up and asked Nina what everyone would be doing after GRuB today, she kindly replied that some of the crew was going on a picnic. I asked if I could come with, and she said yes. I was excited to rub elbows in a sense with my new peers. As we wrapped up our day at GRuB I could feel excitement growing within me. We headed off to the park, conversing and walking to get to know each other a little better. When we got to the park we all sat down in a circle and began to talk with one another. I remember saying something about this generations music and 3 or 4 other voices had jumped in with agreement, the feeling of jubilee and acceptance captured my body, and in a state of euphoria it was like I was thrown back into grade school where you just let loose and didn’t worry about what was cool and what’s not.

With workshops and trust building exercises, we learned never to judge someone for what they look like or how you assume they act like, but by getting to know them on a sympathetic level. This is something I still use today. I can honestly say that GRuB has taught me life lessons my father did not, and has taught me a lot about myself. I have formed a family with my crew members, staff, board members, and my community as well.h the intention of getting to know these people, I asked if could come along

Thank you again, Ellen, Brandon, Kristen, Laurie, and Ken, for making Dayquan’s experience at GRuB possible. With your support, Dayquan feels more confident and open around his peers.

Thank you, Helena, for supporting GRuB’s cause. Your support made a world of difference to Nina, a 17 year old with a rough past. Nina wanted to share her story with you and thank you for the difference your contribution has made;

My name is Nina. I’m 17 years old and I currently attend GRuB School. The moment I would like to share that tied me to GRuB and impacted me the most would be the walk across. The walk across is a line we walk across when controversial questions are asked that apply to us as individuals.

Before the walk across and even before GRuB, finding the person I am or who I wanted to be was a battle. I lost even the basics of what I liked in music, colors, and people in the scramble of high school. Along with high school, different events impacted me. I found myself wanting death more than life.

It wasn’t until I met my girlfriend and her GRuBer friends, after a year of good and not so great times, [that I decided] to apply for the summer crew. I have made it my job never to listen or care about what others think. The walk across at GRuB basically forced me to do everything I was against; listen and open up. Afterward, I had never felt more listened too and absolutely not judged. This is something I was not familiar with.

From doing the walk across, I have gained a family in  the GRuB school. GRuB School has widened my knowledge on multiple platforms. The GRuB community has given me support and room to explore myself. I owe not only my beautiful girlfriend to GRuB, but my newly found respect for all forms of existence including my own.

Thank you again, Helena, for making Nina’s journey possible by supporting GRuB!

Fatou is 16 and a student at the GRuB School program. GRuB was able to help Fatou and others like her because of your support and generosity. Fatou would like to tell you her story:

Hi my name is Fatou, I’m 16 years old and a sophomore at GRuB School.

Before GRuB, I didn’t really know who I was. I cared more about the type of clothes people wore than what they told me. I had no problem with talking behind people’s backs. I applied for GRuB and, to be honest, all I really cared about was the school credit and the money. The day I got selected to be a youth crew member, I was at districts for track. I was so excited. All I could think of was, I get paid, get science credit, I will harvest different types of foods, and take food home every week. I didn’t think it could get any better. I wasn’t expecting GRuB to change me at all. But through my work at GRuB, I started noticing that GRuB was way more than what I thought.

GRuB was a family. I didn’t really realize that until the day I lost my cousin. I went to GRuB, feeling sad and lonely. We did our check-ins and I told everybody what was wrong with me. Immediately, some of my fellow grubbers and my teachers were asking if I need anything. “We are here for you Fatou.”  “If you need anyone to talk to, I’m here Fatou.” Giving me hugs and making me feel so much better. That, to me, is the definition of family. People that care and are always there for you no matter what. GRuB has brought 20 different people to work together and respect each other’s morals and values. Now we call each other family. I know I can go to my fellow grubbers and my teachers about anything.

GRuB has taught me to judge people based on who someone is and not the type of jeans they wear. Before GRuB, I was so insecure of the way I spoke. I didn’t think I pronounced anything right, but GRuB has taught me to come out of my comfort zone. But most importantly, GRuB has taught me to be who I am, to embrace the fact that I am different from everyone else and that is what makes me unique.

Thank you, Shirly and Mary, for making Fatou’s future brighter through GRuB. She is grateful for this new community and perspective on life. Thanks again, Shirly and Mary, for making this all possible!

Thank you all for choosing to support GRuB. Your contributions support Ryann, a 16 year-old crew member. She is so grateful for your donation and wanted to tell her story:

Hey! I’ve been a GRuB crew member since last summer, and every moment I have spent at GRuB or with the crew has been special for me personally. I feel like every day I’m with the crew, something has happened that has either opened up another door for me or taught me something new, whether it is about someone else, myself, my community or something completely crazy!

One of the greatest GRuB moments of all time for me was during the ‘walk across,’ which took place during my first couple of weeks. A walk across is a group learning activity. A person/group of people (in our case, the crew) stand on one side of a line while someone else calls out a group, such as African-American, female, low-class or youth. The people who identified with that label then crossed the line and expressed how they felt about being labeled in both positive and negative terms. Seeing how everyone expressed themselves made me realize people aren’t always as they seem. It was powerful to hear what we have to say as individuals. It showed me that you can think someone is a certain way and turns out to be so different. I now know there is a story behind every face.

GRuB not only teaches me how to learn effectively, but also introduces topics that are relevant to what I do and what is important to me. Moments like these — when grubbers come together and just simply talk — are life-changing moments that will stick with me forever.

From Ryann and everyone at GRuB – Thanks Neal, Helena, Ingrid, and Diksha!!

Thank you all for supporting GRuB as they work to inspire personal and community change in Mason and Thurston Counties of Washington State. Your contributions provided a week of drop-out prevention to Eric. Eric is in hir second year with GRuB and serves as a Peer Crew Leader, or “Pickle” (PCL), to their first year youth. He has shown tremendous growth in his leadership skills and is an excellent mentor for the younger students.

“Before I set foot on the farm I was a depressed kid without self-respect or confidence. I was making myself what I thought others wanted me to be. I did drugs, I hated school, and I didn’t care about much, especially my future. Today, I am confident, happy, and proud to be a different person than I was a year ago.

I didn’t know it then, but applying would be the best thing that had ever happened to me. The love and acceptance at GRuB has done more for me than years of therapy and a week in a psych ward. I’m happy to be alive, motivated to stay away from drugs, and the future I threw away is back in my grasp.”

From all of us at GRuB, thank you Robert, Kim, Hugh, and Amber for helping to create a safe place for Eric.

Thank you for all supporting GRuB as they reach out to the youth of Thurston and Mason counties in Washington State through gardening and agriculture. Your donations provide Jacob with a week of drop-out prevention. He says: “I love GRuB when I’m having a bad day. I can come to GRuB and my day will completely make a turnaround. GRuB is working and fun. I know no matter what happens I can use many skills that I have learned at GRuB to push through. If something is bothering me I know I will always have support. GRuB truthfully has made me a better person and I’m happy I had the opportunity to experience this amazing program!”

Thank you for helping GRuB create a place for youth like Jacob to turn their days and lives around.

Mallorie is in her second year with GRuB and serves as a Peer Crew Leader, or “Pickle” (PCL), to our first year youth. She has shown tremendous growth in her leadership skills and is an excellent mentor for our younger students. Mallorie is particularly proud of the work she and other GRuB youth do to help the community gain more access to healthy produce.

“My time at GRuB has been the greatest thing that’s happened to me in my life so far. When I was told I got the job [as a PCL] I was excited, I knew that I’d be harvesting good food for the food bank and many people.  Helping people has been something I’ve always wanted to do. Maybe it’s because there were so many people that helped my family as I grew up. Helping is a way to give back.”

Thank you for helping us to create a space to empower a new generation of leaders!