High Schooler Annie Valero volunteered at the Promise of Peace community garden with her friends on a cold Saturday.
Even without the aid of a crystal ball, I think it’s safe to say change is pretty much inevitable for the Promise of Peace Community Garden on Grand.
With major developments popping up around the property, Promise of Peace founder Elizabeth Dry figures her little plot where students and volunteers test out their green thumbs is about to become a hot commodity — one she won’t be able to afford for long.
But Dry is optimistic. Now that the garden has established a name for itself in the community, she figures someone is bound to come to its rescue.
Already members of the community have reached out to her with possible garden locations. A local church, whose name she isn’t ready to share, contacted her, and she says she’s been talking with Juliette Fowler Homes as another possibility. Volunteers from Promise of Peace had a big hand in the children’s area at The Lot, which opened next door on Feb. 25, and they also have plans to partner with Hotel Palomar to build a garden at C.C. Young Retirement Community in Dallas.
So ultimately, this could be a good thing for the nonprofit.
“We’re renting right now. That’s why we’re considering contingency plans — you know, where to move — so that we don’t have to pay rent, because we want that money to go directly toward our programming,” Dry says. “We’re ready for the next step.”
No matter what happens in the future, Dry says the Promise of Peace mission to help the community by teaching classes and offering a place to grow flowers and food will stay the same.
“We just want to build more gardens across the city of Dallas. I think this is going to be a remarkable journey. If we move, and we don’t have to pay rent, there is an array of services we can provide.”
