We need to work together to make sure that the ground is perfect for growing – just as it is important to provide an environment with opportunities and tools for community members to experiment, socialize and grow.

It is important to remember that gardeners don’t grow the plants though, they merely provide the right circumstances for the growth to take place.

One key factor in any garden, is that it’s all the elements coming together to create a vibrant and active garden – just as it is in a community. It is not just one person who builds the community, it’s the cumulative effort of everyone that builds it.

This week, we had the chance to sit down with a member of the community who is helping Hope House with “growing their garden,”- Manor Landscaping.

Sitting down with Carlo, the owner of Manor Landscaping, we got to hear his story about how he got involved with Hope House and what Hope House means for the community.

“I originally got involved with Hope House through Dave Ralph – the pastor at Lakeside. One of those involved in the start of Hope House. They asked me to help out a little bit, donating some food, and eventually I started to donate the fuel…this has been going on for 5-6 years now? I’m not keeping track.”

If you have ever seen our Hope in Motion van driving around, you may have noticed the sticker on the back that says “fueled by Manor Landscaping,” this is because Manor donates all the fuel needed to keep these vans running.

This is such a vital service to Hope House, as our Hope in Motion vans distribute food, clothing, hygiene products and other essential supplies to other service providers in and around Guelph.

Through the Hope in Motion program, Hope House helps to distribute farm-fresh produce from our Harvest of Hope garden, non-perishable food items from the Hope House Food Market, as well as new and gently-used clothing from the Hope Stylin’ clothing market.

Hope in Motion is one of many powerful programs at Hope House that runs on the support of the community – and we thank Manor Landscaping for helping us to keep “moving.”