Youth volunteers transformed a vacant lot into a community garden and gathering space.
A vacant lot on the corner of 65th Street and Lemon Hill Avenue had been an eyesore for over a decade — overgrown, littered, and largely ignored by the community. That changed when a group of HIM youth volunteers decided it was time for a transformation.
Working weekends over three months, 15 young people from the HIM Future Developers program cleared the lot, laid pathways, built raised garden beds, and installed benches and a small gathering pavilion.
The project was more than beautification. It was a real-world lesson in community development — the kind of work that the HIM Future Developers program is designed to teach.
“We didn’t just clean up a lot,” says 19-year-old project lead Terrence Hall. “We created something the neighborhood needed. A place where people can come together. That’s what development is really about.”
Local residents contributed materials, food, and encouragement throughout the project. Several neighborhood elders shared stories about what the lot had been decades ago — a gathering place for families that had been lost to neglect.
The completed space now hosts weekly community gatherings, a small farmers market on Saturdays, and serves as an outdoor classroom for HIM programs. The city has recognized the project as a model for youth-led neighborhood revitalization.
For the young people involved, the project proved something powerful: they don’t have to wait to make a difference. They can start building better communities right now.
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