They’re Back! Almost a year to the day after Hurricane Harvey displaced “The Tuesday Crew” – some of HAAM’s most dedicated volunteers – the gang is back in action. Like so many people here in Kingwood, they have spent the last year mucking and gutting their houses and rebuilding at a time when they expected to be enjoying well-earned retirement years.

“When I saw them piling out of their car this morning, I nearly wept with joy,” said Food Pantry Coordinator Jenniffer Gisclair. “It hasn’t been the same without them and it is amazing to have these hard-working volunteers back at HAAM.”

Yesterdays downpour brought in cooler air and some much-needed relief for our gardens and lawns. But for a lot of people who flooded during Hurricane Harvey, it also triggered a lot of stress. Did you know that HAAM offers counseling to community members in need? Call 281-446-3663 to schedule an appointment. It is important to take care of yourself if you are going to take care of others!

Raise your hand if you think a bell pepper is a vegetable. I know I’m not the only one who grew up thinking that fruits were sweet and vegetables savory! Yesterday, thanks to a family gardening class led by Tanya Hullet,  I learned that if the seeds are on the inside, it is a fruit — and if the seed grow on the outside, it is a vegetable. That means that an eggplant is a fruit. So is a pepper, and a tomato. For those of us whose minds are blown, fear not: carrots and lettuce are still vegetables and grapes and apples are still fruit! And each of those fruits and vegetables has an important role in your health. Eat a rainbow every day and enjoy all of the benefits from the garden.

Creekwood Middle School 8th grader Bradley Butterfield exceeded his goal of collecting 50 hygiene packs, providing HAM with an impressive 65 packs for his Eagle Scout project. Great work Bradley!

 

 

 

May 9, 2018 The room was absolutely buzzing after this morning’s presentation by students from Summer Creek and Kingwood Park High Schools on their vision for Students Helping Veterans. I’m here to tell you that this event was equal to any professional pitch by seasoned adults. The main Power Point presentation was led by each school’s student body president and the subsequent table presentations were run by students from both schools. Add to that the outstanding catering by the Summer Creek HS Culinary Arts students and the entire 90-minute event absolutely blew my mind.

In short, these students came together to propose a pilot program to build tiny transitional houses for homeless veterans. It is an ambitious idea one year in the making and one that will take several years to come to fruition with the help of the entire community.

I was there as a representative of HAAM. We value our partnership with Humble ISD and are always looking for new ways to inspire and be inspired. Just yesterday we acted on a previous HISD presentation on indoor tower gardens when Leadership Lake Houston installed on at HAAM.  Today we learned how we might again work together by providing education, training, and case management for veterans who will ultimately participate in this tiny house venture.

But I was also there as a parent of a rising freshman who has chosen architecture as his high school course of study. Let me tell you what I saw:

• Students from two schools that are almost an hour apart who brought a vision to their administrators and then took action, working closely together to address the very real problem of homelessness among returning veterans.
• Administrators who embraced the challenge, showing students a model community in Austin, guiding them through a planning and branding process, building models of the homes, costing out every aspect of the buildings, and creating a public relations campaign.
• Well-designed computer and 3-D models of homes, a solid cost analysis, and a 2-stage plan to build homes.
• Bright, articulate, creative, talented, and well-prepared students passionate about their work.

Their next steps are recruiting community partners and raising funds. To learn more, go to https://www.humbleisd.net/domain/10782 or email studentshelpingveterans@humbleisd.net.