Short description:

The author has extensive experience in multiple areas of volunteering and community activism and with volunteering through the Peace Corps. He is an eloquent and engaging speaker who is very well known and well-loved in the Evansville area. He's a real "walk the walk" kind of person. The chapters are very short and written by average people. In this way, they should appeal to readers who do not see themselves as "the volunteer type" but who nonetheless are interested in giving community work a try. Sidebars in most chapters provide quick bites of information, tips for success, and items to keep in mind.

LOCATIONS: Louisville?Shelley Dewig, Migration and Refugee Services & AmeriCorps; Kyle Kramer, Passionist Earth & Spirit Center Indianapolis?John Elliott, Gleaners Food Bank Evansville, IN?Wendy Bredhold; Cris G. Hochwender & Anna Jean Stratman, University of Evansville; Jes Pope, House of Bread and Peace; John & Amy Rich, Patchwork Central; Calvin Kimbrough, photographer

Long description:

Anger and hopelessness can overwhelm communities. So what can everyday people do to actually grow some good in their own hometown?

Growing Good: A Beginner's Guide to Cultivating Caring Communities shows how ordinary people have transformed themselves into volunteers and activists. Centered mostly in the Midwest, this collection of essays brings together the stories of normal people who have rolled up their sleeves to make their community a better place by serving nonprofits such as Gleaner Food Bank in Indianapolis, Indiana; Migration and Refugee Services in Louisville, Kentucky; and Patchwork Central in Evansville, Indiana, along with national organizations like CASA. For instance, a teacher and his student started a native plant garden to help local insects thrive in a disused corner of their school property. A woman saw a billboard and was moved to become a voice for children in need. A professional photographer offered his services to people experiencing homelessness in order to help others witness their humanity. Editor Bill Hemminger also writes of his own extensive experience with community gardening to feed hungry neighbors.

Filled with simple actions, clear steps, and useful lists, including how to care for and nurture your own inner peace and creativity, Growing Good will help readers of all ages plant seeds of hope and cultivate communities where everyone thrives.

Bill Hemminger has compiled a dozen stories of seeking, finding, experimenting, succeeding, sometimes losing momentum, all leading me to face his opening challenge, to truthfully answer: "Where Do We Come From"? What Are We? Where Are We Going?" . . . He sets the stage for the stories that show how clusters of caring communities are helping to bring positivity to challenges by opening opportunities for those facing small and huge challenges to become part of their own forward momentum.