Home Depot lends helping hand to Dasie Hope Center

Dasie's Patch will teach students life skills

By Jessica Tuggle

jtuggle@hometownnewsol.com

WABASSO - Bright orange-shirted adults and young children in dark-green T-shirts worked side by side to resurface a playground and dig a garden in the early morning of July 15, at the Dasie Hope Center in Wabasso.

Working with the volunteers from Home Depot in Vero Beach was the first gardening experience for many of the children, said Tara Dickinson, director of development at the center.

"Today, Home Depot brought lots of fruits and vegetables and flowers for the kids to help plant. There's cantaloupe, squash, green and yellow peppers, two kinds of tomatoes and herbs like basil, rosemary, dill, oregano and marigold plants, too," said Ms. Dickinson.

"And we got some watermelon," said Andre Johnson, 9, while digging a hold for the plants.

"The sun is going to hit the plants and make it grow, and we got to water it, and then the watermelons are going to grow," he said.

And the best part of the garden planting?

"Getting to eat 'em," Andre said with a smile.

The Dasie Hope Center, which offers after-school activities for children in the Wabasso area, was established in 2001.

The goal of the center is to provide the means for local youth to become self-confident, responsible and well-rounded, according to the center's Web site.

Ancillary services offered by the center include psychological counseling, mentoring and social services.

Growing and then eating the fruits of their labors, appropriately dubbed "Dasie's Patch," is exactly what directors at the center desire.

Isis Thomas, 11, said she was excited about the garden.

"Instead of going to the store and wasting gas, we can come right out here and pick out what we want to eat," she said.

"I can't wait until the watermelons are ready," she added.

While they were planting, Home Depot gardening expert Joanne Isner taught the children how to properly dig holes for the plants and explained how the marigold plants would help the growth of the other fruits and vegetables.

"The marigolds around the edge of the garden will keep some of the bugs from getting to the plants, because they won't like the smell," said Ms. Isner.

Ms. Dickinson explained that Dasie's Patch will help re-enforce the positive social behaviors and life skills taught at the center.

"It's the same thing as giving a man a fish, or teaching him how to fish," Ms. Dickinson said.

Verna Wright, director of Dasie Hope, said she originally went to Home Depot with a request for a $250 to $300 grant for mulch.

When Carlos Buelvas, Team Depot captain, saw the center and learned about their mission, he said, "We've got to do more."

"We ended up giving them a grant of $1,200 and are making a garden for them and putting brand new sand on the playground," said Mr. Buelvas.

"We try to get involved with our community and do projects like this at least once a quarter, if not more than that. Team Depot members come here, some of us on our days off, to do this. Some of us do this, then go into work," he said.

While the children and volunteers poured and spread white sand around the playground, Ms. Wright couldn't help but exclaim over the attitudes of all involved.

"For over a year I wanted to put new sand on the playground, but in these times, it was between buying food or buying sand and that's a no brainer," said Ms. Wright.

"You wouldn't know it's 90 degrees out here by the way they are out there helping, and that's one of the things we try and show them here at the center," she said.

All the children who helped Team Depot were enrolled in the six-week Dasie Hope summer camp program.

While at camp, the children do art projects, go on field trips and work on building math and reading skills.

Breakfast and lunch is served free and is purchased with donated funds.

For more information about programs and services available at the Dasie Hope Center, call (772) 321-1329 or visit www.dasiehope.org.