November 2022: Volunteer Spotlight

Rick Wyatt works hard in the garden on a summer’s day.

Rick Wyatt and his wife Pam have been supporting Project Host in our garden for the last three years, and this past year, Rick has stepped up to lead and organize our fabulous group of volunteers. Learn more about why he dedicates his time and skills to Project Host.

How did you learn about Project Host and what drew you to volunteering in the garden?

Three years ago my wife and I attended a Project Host community dinner where we met David Hull, who was Project Host lead gardener. David took me out to the greenhouse, showed me around, and invited me to volunteer in the spring when we started to seed vegetables and flowers for the summer garden. I was always interested in gardening, and this seemed like a good opportunity to learn about greenhouse work and put theory to practice in the large garden areas.

COVID hit that Spring and had a profound effect on the garden volunteer staff.  The volunteer staff dwindled to just 3 or 4 volunteers. It became a question of would the garden program even survive?  I felt I could help and hoped that, with patience and persistence, the garden program could survive and even flourish again.

What motivates you to spend your time at Project Host?

In many ways Project Host garden is a perfect fit for me. I believe that community service means your local community. I like small charities with little overhead, small working groups, and where the fruits of your labor can be clearly seen locally. I like to see something that starts as a seed, grows, gets harvested, and then is made into a meal for somebody who needs it. Garden volunteers see over half a ton of produce that goes into the culinary school and soup kitchen and eventually ends up as food. Every day when I leave from the garden, I see some of the people that Project Host helps. 

What’s your favorite part of volunteering?

I have many favorite parts of volunteering at Project Host; that’s why it is a perfect fit. I appreciate the other talented and dedicated garden volunteers and the opportunities it presents to learn and try new things. I am 14 years retired. Garden planning lets me leverage planning, project management, and even computer skills I learned when I was in the workforce….all without the pressure. I also appreciate the work and skills applied by the people who work “inside the building.” That is, the staff who run the soup kitchen, the culinary school, and the food truck.  Project Host is a collegial workforce of volunteers all pulling in the same direction.

How has volunteering at Project Host shaped/changed your view of Greenville?

The front page story of Greenville’s transition from a mill town to one of the most desirable small towns to live in America is well known. It is a case study of what can be done when forward-thinking business leaders and government cooperatively work together. At Project Host, there are other stories, like the food truck that delivers meals to area “food deserts,” the culinary school that teaches the underemployed how to cook and provides meals to hungry children, the soup kitchen that feeds local population on a daily basis, and the bakery that augments those meals. There is also the larger story of an interconnected network of service providers and charities that work together to support the area underserved population. The incredible generosity of people and corporations that contribute time, money, and resources to address area problems lifts my spirit.