Last June, Dead & Company came to Boston to play two nights at Fenway Park. I had been planning for quite some time to volunteer with HeadCount for another action-filled night on "Participation Row", but as the shows grew closer I found out about a Boston Day of Action with another non-profit who would be joining us on Participation Row, Positive Legacy.
Positive Legacy is a non-profit whose mission is to integrate music and service to benefit people and the environment. For years I had heard about them coordinating days of action at live music destination events, bringing the fans out into the local community to participate in humanitarian and environmental service projects, but I had never had the privilege of participating myself. When I found out they would be having an Action Day in Boston during the weekend of the Dead & Company shows at Fenway, I was in.
I was so excited to finally take some action - in my own local community no less - with my partner that we even decided to bring my dad along since it was Father's Day. The action we would be participating in was to rehab a community garden space to support the nutrition and outdoor engagement of one of the residences run by The Pine Street Inn in Boston. The goal of the garden was to offer engagement and educational opportunities for the 28 formerly homeless women that live in the home, while supporting current initiatives aimed at improving their health, nutrition, and well-being.
I found out right off the bat that this was a very attainable goal. When we arrived at the 11:30 meet up time, all of the volunteers found the project had already been started, as some of the residents had been out since early morning building their garden. Throughout the day, as we planted flowers and vegetables, built patios and walkways, and moved piles of compost, we had the honor of working alongside some of these women as we all came together to build a beautiful garden. It was very clear that these women will use the garden to help them take positive steps in their lives and I am very thankful to Positive Legacy, as well as the many Deadhead volunteers, for providing them with such a thoughtful activity to keep them engaged and motivated. To make a wonderful day even better, we were graced with the acoustic jams from Kind Bud while we worked, as well as a catered meal for all of the volunteers, Pine Street Inn staff, residents and even some of their neighborhood friends. I encourage you all to take action with Positive Legacy any chance you get.
Positive Legacy will be joining us on Participation Row on July 13 & 14 in Boulder, CO. Join them for their ACTION DAY, in partnership with Conscious Alliance, on Saturday July 14, 2018 from 10:30-1:30 in Boulder, CO. Details at https://positivelegacy.com/blog/were-going-on-dead-co-tour/
Photos by John Ward