PEABODY — More than 50 volunteers spent their morning getting their hands dirty at Newhall Fields Community Farm as part of Bridgewell’s annual Celebration of Community Service Project on Tuesday.
Bridgewell is a nonprofit, social and human services organization that serves over 7,200 people with disabilities and other life challenges throughout northeastern Massachusetts.
Newhall Fields is a nonprofit organization that aims to strengthen the community by creating access to nutritious vegetables and herbs through sustainable, regenerative agriculture, volunteer-powered farming, and outdoor farm-based educational opportunities.
Bridgewell CEO Chris Tuttle said the Celebration of Community is “absolutely one of my most favorite days of the year.”
He continued, “It’s an opportunity for Bridgewell to give back to the community that has embraced Bridgewell. We are part of Peabody. We are part of the larger community within the North Shore, and the community gives us a lot of respect and love. And this is our opportunity to really kind of give back to the community and say thank you.”
After thanking Newhall Fields for collaborating on this project, Tuttle then joked, “I also probably should thank Advil and Tylenol because I take a great deal after I’m done here.”
The volunteers split into eight groups, each tackling a different task.
“We try to pick tasks so people can self-select (based on their) different kinds of abilities,” Newhall Fields Farm Manager CJ Hughes said. “Some tasks are a light lift, but you’re standing. Some are a light lift, but you’re sitting, and some tasks are heavy lifting. We try to have a little something for everybody so everybody feels included, and we are all working toward common goals and getting these projects in order.”
The tasks ranged from seed collecting to pot washing to land building to planting. Tuttle chose to join the landscaping team and bring rocks from one area of the land to where a rock garden is being built. When asked why he chose the most physically challenging task, Tuttle laughed.
“In all honesty, it’s to try to prove to myself that I’m not old yet and that I can still do this at 61. There’s no real deep thought about it. It’s more of me trying to prove to myself that I still can do it,” he said. “I clearly am the weakest link on this whole team, but I enjoy heavy work and all this. I’ve been doing landscaping work like this my whole life.”
Ria Otero said she “jumped right at” the opportunity to volunteer at Newhall Fields, and she was part of the team tasked with planting Chantilly Lace, among other plants. Otero is a recovering addict and in one of Bridgewell’s programs. She said, “Bridgewell does a lot for us, so it’s nice to give back.”
Newhall Fields Director and Board of Trustees President Jeannette McGinn said this is “an opportunity to elevate both of our organizations and get the word out as to what we’re doing in the community because we’re both community-based organizations reaching out to help people in the community in different ways.”
She added that, although the Bridgewell volunteers only helped out for a couple of hours, “if you have 40 people, that’s a week’s worth of labor, and they accomplish so much.”
McGinn also said, “It’s very uplifting. It elevates everybody; it really does.”
