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The Home Works USA business office is now open!

Wells Fargo Volunteer Team Program Installs Orchard

The warmth of Spring has been slow in coming to our community this year. But April 24^th was a perfect spring day with temperatures reaching 80°.  The weather was perfect for planting and that is what we did.  A team of volunteers from Wells Fargo Advisors gave generously of their time to build the foundation for the edible landscaping that will be a centerpiece of the Home Works Community.  These wonderful volunteers planted 19 trees and created walking paths among the trees.

The Home Works Community is affordable rental housing for emerging adults who have aged out of foster care.  In addition to affordable housing, healthly eating and physical activity are two things that can have a significant positive impact immediately as well as a lasting impact on the people who live in the community.   According to Ron Friedman, the author of “What You Eat Affects Your Productivity,” (Har. Bus. Rev Oct. 17, 2014), we should make healthy snacking easier to achieve than unhealthy snacking.

The Wells Fargo volunteers have done that for the future residents of the Home Works Community.  “Fruits and vegetables contain vital nutrients that foster the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in the experience of curiosity, motivation, and engagement. They also provide antioxidants that minimize bodily inflammation, improve memory, and enhance mood.” (Friedman 2014).

Imagine that you could walk a few yards from your front door and find fruit in season available for the picking.  Would you choose fruit?  We’re betting you would, and we’re betting the emerging adults who will call this community home will too.

We thank the Wells Fargo volunteers for their time.  In the words of Nelson Henderson, “The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”  The volunteers from Wells Fargo Advisors have done just that.  The orchard which now includes several varieties of apples, pears, peaches and plums will be appreciated by Home Works residents in the years to come.