Madisonians Offer Path to Service Through the Grove Project
Serving others through volunteering reduces stress, increases optimism and offers an improved sense of perspective. But it’s often difficult to find appropriate opportunities to give time, resources and energy — especially for children and teens.
Katie Holtzman Hearn and Tricia Jessen, both of Madison, have created an avenue to help. They recently launched The Grove, a non-profit organization that offers stand-alone and multi-week group-based service programs for youths aged 6–18 years. The Grove provides hands-on volunteer experiences with vetted local non-profits as well as service workshops.
“Our mission is to empower youth to make a difference in their community through hands-on opportunities,” said Katie Hearn, co-founder of the organization.
The idea of starting a youth-based service organization came to Holtzman Hearn during the Pandemic, when, as a therapist, she was helping kids cope with the stress of a “new normal” during lockdown. “I saw a lot of adolescents who were super anxious and very depressed. They felt like the world was falling apart and they couldn’t do anything about it.”
Jessen was the perfect partner. A former neighbor, Jessup served in AmeriCorps and has experience as a professional counselor facilitating social skills groups for children with special needs.
“I find joy and purpose in helping adolescents share their talents, learn new skills and connect with their community,” she said.
The organization has already held two cycles of sessions focused on food insecurity and foster care in which youth prepared meals and collected items for kids in transition, among other activities. They’re now working on a special dance project for youth (ages 8–13) with special needs. The dance will be held April 26 at Madison Community House, and volunteers are still welcome.
To learn more about how to participate in The Grove, please visit https://thegroveproject.com/.
Meg Mullin is a writer and volunteer reporter with the Madison Eagle/New Jersey Hills Newspapers and a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker based in Madison, NJ. She is passionate about helping people tell their stories and find their way home. You can reach her at 973–845–8375 or meg.mullin@cbmoves.com
