Meet our neighbor, Maria!

Summer is almost over, can you believe it? Every year at Wildheart, this season within the community is best described as “beautiful chaos!” We find ourselves surrounded by throes of volunteers, chomping at the bit to serve our neighbors, and, simultaneously, we are confronted by the importance of what we do when we meet those living in areas of our community we’ve yet to serve. My absolute favorite part of what we do is hearing these testimonies of resilience from neighbors who have stuck it out, seemingly against all odds and advice, and then watching those working alongside begin to understand why we LOVE THE HILL!

Meet Maria!

One neighbor, Maria, greeted us on Regina Street with hugs and smiles while we were out delivering more planter boxes in the community. She wanted us to see that the box we'd delivered to her home more than 4 years ago had travelled with her to her new home. Then the tears came... it wasn't about the box, it was about the memories of when that gift showed up in her life. She recounted to the team how she had recently lost her daughter, and how that box of flowers that stood in front of her home was her daughter's pride and joy. She would work to keep the flowers healthy, the weeds out and her area clean. Maria brought that memory with her, and she was excited to see that nearly every home on her new block had signed up to receive one as well.

It's moments like these where we're all invited to understand that the work of loving and serving others isn't only accomplishing those things which we can see, hear and measure. When the outcomes of service create memories, we create an experience that serves to comfort, to encourage and to remind people that they are not alone, and perhaps most important, they have every reason to hold on to hope for a brighter future.

Thank you, for working alongside us and our neighbors to build this story of hope! As we approach the fall, there are plenty more memories waiting to be made, and I would love to have you in the story.