with a heart for healthy living, kaiser permanente joins in on impacting san pedro high school

There has been a significant movement toward improving nutrition within the Los Angeles Unified School District.  In fact, the district has begun a program that promotes various fruits and vegetables through their Network for a Healthy California program, heightening student awareness of the benefits of these foods.  High school health classes dedicate a four-week unit toward instructing freshman students in habits that promote nutritious living.  Lacking in these initiatives is the hands-on interaction that enlivens students’ educational experience.

Students working hard to complete phase 2Sharefest, in its dedication to creative collaboration for positive change, has once again, brought together its wealth of resources to complete the Victory Garden at San Pedro High School, transforming an unused plot of land into an organic, sustainable classroom filled with nutritious foods.  Partnering alongside contractors like Cornerstone Construction Group and Living Color Landscapes, caring organizations such as Kaiser Permanente as well as teachers and students from San Pedro High School, Sharefest looks forward to assisting in the completion of a project that will impact the campus and community of San Pedro for years to come.

Its design began as the dream of James Weston, to provide a garden for both students and community members to partake of; participating together in the planting, maintenance, and sharing of the fruits of their labor.  Sharefest was invited to provide expertise in the promotion and development of the project and brought in Landscape Designer Karen Collins from Living Color Landscapes to take this dream to the next level.  As the project grew, so did the dreams of what it could be.  The initial phase of the project was to clear the space, grade the space, and construct the planters.  San Pedro High students and members of Cornerstone Construction Group, Dakotah Masonry, and City on a Hill Church came together to successfully complete the project.  Phase two pooled the resources of SPHS students and Dakotah Masonry to prepare the space for the laying of pavers on the floor of the garden area.

On Saturday, April 28 the garden will be completed.  Much of what will be done in the final phase comes as a result of the generous donation of finances and volunteers by Kaiser Permanente.  Crystal Williams, Public Affairs Representative at Kaiser, shares, “Kaiser has a desire to be in our community promoting community interaction, volunteerism, and healthy living.  The Victory Garden project brings together these values.” 

Principal Jeanette Stevens is appreciative of the project and believes that it will greatly impact the campus.  “We are so thankful to Sharefest and Kaiser for their generosity in making this project happen.  We are excited to be able to have an amazing space in which our students can take ownership, learn valuable life-lessons, and enjoy.”

The Victory Garden project brings together a partnership of organizations that desires to impact their community in a tangible way.  With the combined efforts of Sharefest, Kaiser Permanente, Thrivent Financial, San Pedro High students and teachers, as well as the local church congregations and businesses, what was once a dream will become a reality.  The impact that will be made will be generational, as students for years to come will be able to taste the fruit of labor.

Rendering and overall project designed by Karen Collins with Living Color Landscapses

sharefest participates in the mayor's "we serve la" campaign | 3.31.12

This year, we are excited to once again partner with Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa's Office on the upcoming Good Food Day of Service.  On March 31^st, volunteers throughout Los Angeles will serve together toward a more healthy and sustainable food system, while learning about, celebrating and volunteering side-by-side.  Nearly forty event sites will be engaged in activities around the city.  

The Sharefest site for this event will take place on the campus of San Pedro High School. We will be completing Phase 2 of our “Victory Garden” project which was started on our 2011 Annual Workday, and is slated to be completed on our upcoming Annual Workday on April 28^th.  Phase 2 will include the installation of pavers throughout the garden area. 

The overall vision for the garden is to involve students and the local community in the continued creation of this edible garden on campus.  The Victory Garden design is a living quilt of plants and people, a garden of communities. Featuring a wide variety of heritage organic vegetables suited to the Harbor Area microclimate, the garden will demonstrate the diversity of urban food production practices. Food grown in the garden will be used by the participants and also donated to those with limited access to healthy organic produce through a partnership with local food banks and meals programs.

We look forward to these opportunities to leave an imprint on our local community and change the lives of our future leaders.  If you are interested in being involved, we would love to have you!  Please contact info@sharefestinc.org if you would like to be involved in either of these upcoming Workdays.

Good Food Day-LA is part of the Mayor’s "We Serve LA" volunteer and service campaign. The event is produced and presented by The Office of Mayor Villaraigosa and The Los Angeles Food Policy Council.

Cornerstone Construction Group and the Workday

Through the many partnerships Sharefest has forged, a significant amount of measurable and positive change has been put in place within the Los Angeles area. This change is not only skin-deep, beautifying the exterior appearance of structures and spaces, but it goes to the heart of the matter, and is deeply rooted in a commitment to increasing volunteerism and building relationships within the community.

Cornerstone Owner's Vic and Linda Braden with LA Mayor Villaraigosa in front of the Cheryl Green Community Center

Companies like Cornerstone Construction Group have played a huge role in turning Sharefest’s vision into well-executed projects. Providing a full range of general construction and design/build services, Cornerstone is built on a philosophy of integrity, quality, and a view of those who receive their services as “valued partners”. Over the years, Cornerstone has made it a part of their mission to invest in the continued development of Redondo Beach and surrounding areas by spending their spare time and resources to help the local community.

Restored Morrell House in Redondo Beach, CACornerstone has generously supported the South Bay and Harbor areas of Los Angeles with their consistent involvement in the Workdays. Initiated at Sharefest’s Annual Workday in 2004, Cornerstone, along with King's Harbor Church, dedicated each and every Saturday for two years to the restoration of the Morrell House, a local landmark of historical significance in Redondo Beach, CA. Their construction expertise contributed to an effort which positively highlights the cultural heritage of the area. In addition, Cornerstone collaborated with Sharefest and took the lead in the building of a custom home for the Ripatti-Pearce family on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in 2006.  Cornerstone also worked with Sharefest to complete the Cheryl Green Community Center – a project designed to bring about healing and hope to the people of Harbor Gateway after the violent death of 14 year old Cheryl Green by gang violence (read more about the project here, here, and here).

This year, Cornerstone has so graciously continued their support of Sharefest and the Annual Workday by getting involved with King’s Harbor Church, City on a Hill Church, Living Color Landscapes, and the LA Mayor's Office on projects at San Pedro High School. These include the installation of scoreboards purchased seven years ago for the baseball and softball fields (view project details), as well as creating a garden space that produces high quality organic vegetables for the students, their families and the community (view project details, and read more here and here).

In response to the scoreboard project, San Pedro's High School's Principal, Jeanette Stevens, voices her gratitude to Sharefest in how Sharefest and Cornerstone are effective in transforming her school:

Thank you so much for all you are doing for our school! We are greatly appreciative and I am personally SHOCKED at how much you are able to accomplish in such a short amount of time! Last week, I learned about the scoreboard project and we are ecstatic! It is hard to imagine that $21,000 worth of scoreboards have been sitting on the floor in a dark, back room on our campus for seven years, collecting dust! You somehow heard about this project, secured people, and with plans in place and people ready to move, we are ready to install!

Thank you, Cornerstone for your support and leadership!

These two highlighted projects and several others are looking for more volunteers to get involved with the activities taking place on Saturday, May 14th. Register now!

Victory Garden at San Pedro High School

At Sharefest's 8th Annual Workday on Saturday, May 14th, 2011, we will cut the ribbon on a wonderful new vegetable garden at San Pedro High School. We will transform a plot of land that is currently unused into a living, edible classroom. The Victory Garden will weave people and plants together – a garden for and of communities. Featuring a wide variety of heritage organic vegetables suited to the Harbor Area microclimate, the garden will demonstrate the ability and diversity of urban food production practices. Food grown in the garden will be used by the participants and also donated to those with limited access to healthy organic produce through a partnership with local food banks and meals programs. This project at San Pedro High School is partnered with LA City Mayor's Office and City on a Hill Church (Torrance).

Here is a before photo:

And here are renderings of the layout of the Victory Garden:

We Need Your Support!

We are seeking donations of time, energy, funding, and materials. You can help by providing seeds or seed propagation space, helping to transplant or direct seed in the garden, cultivating and harvesting vegetables, or all of the above. We also need volunteers to help build, and maintain the garden. We will have mini-Workdays at the site leading up to our 8th Annual Workday on May 14th. Sharefest's registration for the Annual Workday will be ready in April, but you can volunteer at the mini-Workdays by contacting:

James Weston
SPHS Victory Garden Coordinator
(562) 712-5362
westonjimmy@hotmail.com

We are seeking financial support and in-kind material donations. All donations are tax deductible. For donations, please contact Sharefest at info@sharefestinc.org or (310) 626-8106.