SWAT Team descends on DXC!

A SWAT team descended on DXC a couple of weeks ago, but it had nothing to do with a hostage situation or police.

Nearly 50 young volunteers from the American Baptist Women Ministry’s National conference in Columbus came to DXC to spend a Day of Service with us.

The conference’s slogan this year was “Strong Women Acting Together” or SWAT, for short, and except for the lack of weapons and the emergency circumstances, they certainly seemed to have the organization and dedication of their more militant counterparts.

The young women ranged in ages from early to mid-teens and were accompanied by their adult supervisors. They came from all over the country and there were even two sisters from Puerto Rico who spoke little or no English.

Having to abide by State Law, we divided them into two groups; one group, of girls 15 and older, stayed here at the main building and worked in the classrooms with the children and teachers under the coordination of Cardella. The other group went with me to the East Fifth Street site to volunteer their efforts on the Feed Dayton Urban Farm project we’re partnered with.

The group that stayed here at the main office, played and talked with the children here, helped teachers with their lessons, and gave the kids some much needed one-on-one mentoring. Some others helped out by cleaning and painting where needed, and making the place more presentable.

Everyone enjoyed doing craft projects and reading to the kids – and the kids loved it too. The learning was a two-way thing, though, because all the young girls in the group said they had enjoyed learning about our kids and what goes on in the classrooms.

At first, the smell of the compost and the thought of working in the dirt over on Fifth Street was not very appealing to the girls, but, as they listened to Ken Carman, Director of Feed Dayton and one of the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable people I know on urban farming, you could see them getting more excited about it. Soon, we had small groups of young women harvesting kale and banana peppers for the local food pantry, others kneeling in the rows pulling weeds, and still others filling buckets with compost and carrying them to their friends to be spread on the crops.

It was not a cool day and was overcast – rain eventually did cause us to cut the project short by just a few minutes – so there was a certain quantity of perspiration involved. Still, they never complained. She pitched in and did whatever was asked of them. Every once in a while, you’d here someone playing off their slogan, saying “Strong Women Digging in Dirt!” or “Strong Women Spreading Rotting Leaves!” The longer we went, the more creative and funny the slogans became.

We came back to the Main Office for lunch and then the young ladies helped out around here for a couple of hours before boarding the charter bus to return to Columbus. There were a few good natured comments about it being an “interesting” ride home as far as the aroma in the bus, and a contest to see who could be the first to call for a shower when they got back.

But in looking at the comment surveys after they had gone, it was very interesting to read that, almost universally, there was one complaint: “I wish we’d had more time so I could have done more.”

Maybe there is some hope for the next generation, after all.

Thanks, ladies – everything you did is greatly and truly appreciated.

We're getting noticed in high places!

We've had a few very busy days in the past week, and that's good.

The DXC/Feed Dayton Urban Farming Initiative has really taken off and we're attracting a lot of attention in high places with it.

Last Thursday, Ohio State Representative Peggy Lehner (R-37th District) paid us a visit and spent about two hours talking with us and Ken Carman, the director of Feed Dayton. And Treva Jenkins, Outreach Director for them.

Then, on Friday, Gary Abernathy, the District Representative for U.S. Senator George Voinovich (R-Oh) came to town to see us.

Finally, but certainly not least, Dayton City Commissioner Nan Whaley (D) stopped by to see what's going on.

In the mix were reporters from the Dayton Daily News and WDTN – Channel 2 News.

Ken is so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about developing urban farms to feed the hungry and homeless that it it's hard not to get excited about it just talking to him. All of our visitors – reporters included – left firm believers in our project and they all openly asked what they could do to advance the cause.

What Feed Dayton and DXC are trying to do goes beyond just feeding those here in Dayton who are in need. Make no mistake, that alone would be enough to demand respect. But we see much greater things in store.

For one thing, Feed Dayton and we want to make it easy for people at all levels to grow at least some of their own food. Study after study show that we can save money by having food grown nearby, but also that, the fresher the food, the more nutritious it is. Couple that with making a city like Dayton more self-sufficient and you have a win-win-win situation for everyone!

But wait! There's More!

The program itself is self-sufficient. Ken has been so resourceful that its now producing food and has cost him less than $20.

That's right – less than $20.

How he's done it is to use the resources around the city that are normally discarded or wasted; things like getting neighborhood residents to “donate” their fallen leaves and grass clippings; arranging with local tree trimmers to bring their wood chips to the farm and dump them for free, rather than playing to do it at a landfill; and bringing in manure from the county fairgrounds to use in his compost, saving the county some money by not having it hauled away commercially.

Using donated rain barrels, he catches the castoff water from the roof of our building for watering purposes rather than using city water.

When harvest times comes, he'll be in touch with neighborhood residents who will come over to help out in exchange for keeping 20% of everything they harvest.
So, who wouldn't get excited about a program like this?

All of this, we think, is a great model to use for other communities to do the same thing, so Ken and we spent a lot of time talking to both Rep. Lehner and Mr. Abernathy about how we can “export” the model to do good things in more places. Ohio needs to lead the way in innovation and forward thinking and this is a great place to start, both our guests agreed.

Who knows? It may just be that cities all over the country might one day be doing what we're doing here – all because we believed.

Come Out and Celebrate Spring with Us!

Spring has finally come, it seems, and we're all just as happy here as everyone else. In fact, we wanted to celebrate the early days of Spring with a our friends and friends-to-be, so we came up with a day set aside just for that. We're calling it Family Fun Day and we see it as a chance for people to get out and enjoy a (hopefully) warm Spring day and also have a chance to learn a few things about health, safety, and wellness.

In fact, it has taken off and flown much higher than we expected. Last week, United Health Solutions (who oversees the AmeriCorps program here in Dayton) contacted us and asked to make Family Fun Day its official AmeriCorps Week project! Of course, we agreed right away and as a result, we're getting a lot of very good people attending to help us out.

Even before AmeriCorps came on board, we had some pretty good partners in this: The Dayton Fire Department is going to have a truck and some firefighters there to let the kids get a look at what being a firefighter is all about, and to give tips on how to make y9our home safer from fire.

Also, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office is going to have child ID kits and other information, plus McGruff the Crime Dog is going to be wandering about having fun with the kids.

The American Red Cross of Dayton, Dayton Children's Medical Center, the Children's Hunger Alliance, and United Way and the Power Mobile are all going to be in there too.

But don't get the idea that it's going to be all business! We've got some great games and activities planned and giveaways too!

There's going to be a balloon toss and balloon stomp , face painting, and a ducky pool – see a theme developing here (wear clothes you don't mind getting wet!)?

Free bike helmets are going to be given away for kids 12 and under on a first-come-first-served basis, and there's more: King's Island has given us two free tickets to give away; Cassano's has coupons for free pizza, and Subway sandwiches has coupons for free subs. Plus, the Dayton Dragons is giving us gift bags with free Dragons hats and shirts, and a few free tickets to see a game!

All of this is going to take place at the Dayton Leadership Academy, 1416 W. Riverview Ave in Dayton and we really want to thank them for offering their facilities so we can hold the Fun Day rain or shine.

So come on out and share a day with us. It's going to run from 10 a.m. To 5 p.m. And it's going to be a whole lot of fun!

See you there.

DXC hopes to expand Childcare Feeding programs and Martin’s Meal partnership with Benefit

The Dayton Christian Center (DXC) has a long history of being there for people in need. For 88 years, it has provided faith-based assistance to anyone who seeks help.

DXC operates a state-licensed Childcare program for 36 families in the Dayton area. As part of that program, the center offers three nutritionally balanced meals five days per week.

In addition, DXC hosts a community meal along with one of the Center’s partners, Martin’s Meal. Two–to-three times each month, some 40-50 Dayton residents have a complete, hot meal they might not have otherwise. The meal is prepared and served by volunteers from seven area Catholic parishes on the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of each month (with an altered summer schedule).

“We’ve been doing this for six years now and it’s been a great partnership,” according to Tasha Johnson, Childcare Director/Administrator at DXC. “But there’s a real need to do more, especially in the hard times we’re in now. That’s why we want to completely renovate the kitchen at our site on Riverview Ave; so we can serve more people.”

To give others the opportunity to help complete that task, DXC and Martin’s Meal are holding a fundraising Benefit Evening.

“We’re asking people to come to enjoy some good food, excellent entertainment and good company and help us feed even more people,” Johnson said.

The renovation project was begun in the fall of 2009 and got a boost from Good Samaritan Hospital. The facility rebuilt its kitchen and offered to donate the older equipment to DXC to aid in the project.

“It was one of those situations where we had a need and, through word of mouth, it was filled, and, honestly, we’re just as thrilled as we can be over it,” Johnson said.

But, while the center has raised a large amount of what is needed through donations and in-kind gifts but there is still a bit more needed before renovation can begin.

“We’re so very close to reaching our goal,” Johnson said. “We need just a little more. The whole renovation project is going to total $50,000, but we’ve already raised $30,000 of that and now we just need to take it the rest of the way. “

That’s what the Benefit Evening is all about, she said.

The event will be held April 24 at the Dayton Engineer’s Club, 110 East Monument Avenue, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Ticket holders will be treated to hors d’oeuvres and “opulent mini” deserts prepared by Chef Lora, a local caterer. There will be a cash bar and entertainment will be provided by Broadway actress Tory Ross accompanied by local pianist Paul Kwak. Ross, an alumnus of The Muse machine, recently appeared on Broadway in Cry Baby as well as an earlier performance as the misfit showgirl in the film version of The Producers before returning to London, England where she appeared in the musical Silence. Kwak, a native of Kettering, is currently an M.M. candidate in collaborative piano at the Juilliard School. And will begin medical school at Case Western Reserve University in the fall where he plans to specialize in otolaryngology in order to combine his fascination with the voice, singing, and music with his desire to become a physician. Both Ross and Kwak are graduates of the Miami Valley School. David Claybrooks will emcee the event.

Tickets for the Benefit Evening are $75 each with $50 being tax deductible. Tickets are going quick so reserve yours today!

For more information on this project or to make your reservation, contact The Dayton Christian Center at 937-275-7174.

Planting Season: Put those volunteers to work!

Our volunteers this past Tuesday knew what they were doing! So we let them do what they know best...urban farming. And what a wonderful job they did! 5 volunteers from Eaton First Church of God came out to help with the ESP Urban Farm. They picked up stones, planted onions, and put mulch, leaves and wood chips down among other things! They worked for about 2.5 hours at the farm and worked hard every minute of that time. With their help, we can plant soon and work on other needs at ESP. We hope they enjoyed their time with us, because we enjoyed having them here!

If you have questions about Feed Dayton, the ESP Urban Farming Initiative or about Dayton Christian Center, please call us at (937) 275-7174. We would love to hear from you!

Another big thanks to the volunteers from Eaton First Church of God! We welcome all of you back anytime!

Today's lesson: Teeth

Everyone needs to learn how to clean their teeth properly! And this is just what Katie, our volunteer, did for the pre-school and school-age classrooms. And oh how the kids LOVED it! Having this oral health lesson for our kids fits into our goal of being healthy and staying healthy. And this includes caring for those teeth!

Katie had a display with her as well as examples to show the children how unhealthy food can rot your teeth and how eating apples and drinking milk will make your teeth stronger. Using peanut butter and juice as an example in the pre-school room, she got the children to have fun and learn at the same time. A lot of the school-age children asked questions during their lesson and they learned that sugary beverages are bad for their teeth and that they should brush and floss every day.

Other pictures shown in the slideshow include our office move. A few of the administrative staff moved into new offices in the house next door so we had our wonderful volunteer Seth help us out. Bob hurt himself in the meantime, but he is a tougher man for it! I made sure to bandage him up and put him right back to work!

Thank you all for reading this post and staying dedicated to DXC! We couldn't do all that we do without you and your support! Have a blessed day!


*Betsy*
Volunteer and Community Outreach Coordinator

What is this so called "urban farming" in Dayton?

Dayton Christian Center is proud to say that we are involved in a huge movement that will change what Dayton knows about farming. Recently, we partnered with Feed Dayton, which is a local urban farming program that is growing fresh produce for members of the community who are struggling during today's difficult times. As a partner, we are providing land for them on E. Fifth Street (5,000 square feet) that will be used as a demonstration and training facility this year and for years to come. Along with this land comes the ESP Building which is not be using currently. Dayton Christian Center hopes to start using this facility in the spring/summer for programming that connects back to the farm and our partnership with GetUp Montgomery County.

Through our partnership with GetUp and Feed Dayton, we are changing the way Dayton Christian Center looks at things. We want to focus on healthy lifestyles and initiatives that will benefit our center and the community. As part of this, 80% of the produce grown from the farm will go to local food banks and pantries. 20% will go directly into the hands of those helping during planting season.

Please look at the "before" and "after" pictures of the ESP building and training facility. Ken Carman, the director of Feed Dayton, has been out working everyday alongside volunteers to get this site ready for planting. By Friday, Ken should have some seeds already planted and possibly some kale from his personal garden brought over.

Thank you to Feed Dayton, GetUp Montgomery County, and all the wonderful volunteers for helping us with this new initiative. The more hands, supplies, and support we have for this, the more we can help those in need. We know we are making a difference and I can't wait to share the produce with those in need and to not only provide meals to those in Dayton, but healthier, nutritious meals.

Be on the lookout for online and print articles about Feed Dayton in your local news sources. Also, check out Feed Dayton's website at feeddayton.org and please go on to GetUp Montgomery County's website and see why we took the challenge of 5-2-1 Almost None and why you should take the challenge too! Their website is getupmc.org!

Now get outside, enjoy this beautiful weather and live, breath and eat healthier! Go Dayton!