Hope Community is honored to be the subject of a recent story by Scenic 98 Coastal highlighting the programs, outreach, and history that shape our mission! The article captures our efforts to provide access to locally-sourced healthy food, employment opportunities, and cultural enrichment while fostering unity, sustainability, and community.
A major focus of the story is our work to restore the historic Anna T. Jeanes School in Fairhope South. Established by Quaker philanthropist Anna R. Jeanes to expand educational opportunities for African American children, this 12-acre property holds a deep historical and cultural significance. Thanks to countless hours dedicated by our wonderful volunteers, we’ve already had a lot of success in revitalizing the site through cleaning the property, building raised garden beds, creating butterfly gardens, establishing compost areas, and adding a vibrant picnic area complete with lending libraries.
This enormous effort is ongoing, and we are actively working toward building a teaching farm, community garden, and teaching kitchen to provide dedicated spaces in which individuals can build community with one another through interacting with nature, learning life-long skills, and accessing healthy foods. Other upcoming projects include building versatile meeting spaces, a museum-style interactive exhibit to honor the legacy of Anna T. Jeanes, and 1.5 miles of nature trails .
This project is happening alongside a new plan by the City of Fairhope and the Fairhope/Point Clear Community Foundation to build a public playground and splash pad on a 1.6-acre corner of the property, bringing even more vibrancy to this part of town.
The article also highlights our ongoing fundraising effort to hire a full-time employee. While most of our work is carried out by our 650+ volunteers, we plan to hire a farm and operations manager to help organize and coordinate volunteers while overseeing the garden, nature trails, property maintenance, and events. You can donate to this effort here.
Read the article to learn more!
