LANSING, Mich — A few months ago during our Week of Kindness series, we introduced you to a group of volunteers at the Village Flower Farm—a budding project with big dreams, quite literally growing from the ground up.
- The Village Flower Farm in Lansing began when local teens asked Tara Jegela for outdoor work and ended up creating a flower garden that donates blooms to the community.
- What started as dirt and seeds has grown into a full flower farm and youth-led community center, teaching leadership and kindness.
- The goal for this year is to donate 650 flower arrangements to neighbors and organizations like local senior centers—but they’re still looking for volunteers to help meet that goal.
- The project not only spreads joy to recipients but also gives young volunteers purpose and hope, with ongoing efforts to involve more youth and grow community support.
WATCH: Seeds of change: How local volunteers and youth turned a garden into a movement
The Village Flower Farm was just rows of dirt. Today, it’s a fully bloomed flower farm, spreading color and kindness across Lansing. I returned to check in with organizer Tara Jegla and her team of dedicated young volunteers to see how far they’ve come.
“When you guys were here first, we just had dirt and seeds in milk jugs,” Tara recalled.
It all started when a group of Lansing teens knocked on Tara’s door, looking to earn extra cash doing yard work. But instead of just handing out chores, Tara handed out an opportunity. Together, they started planting flowers—an effort that’s since bloomed into much more than just a garden.
Today, the Village Flower Farm is not only growing flowers, but also growing leaders. The organization has become a community hub, complete with student-led leadership and a mission to deliver flowers—and joy—to Lansing residents who could use a little lift.
“Taking a chance, answering a knock on the door with these kids and building a relationship—we’ve built a flower farm,” Tara said. “We are able to bring flowers to people across Lansing and bring happiness and joy to people who might not have had it that day.”
This year, the goal is to donate 650 flower arrangements to neighbors, community members, and local organizations—including the seniors at Medilodge.
“Are you on track for the 650?” I asked
.“We are a little bit behind,” Tara admitted, “but thankfully, some volunteers have stepped up to help. We’re still looking for more hands to keep us going.”
Tara says the impact isn’t just felt by the flower recipients, but also by the volunteers themselves. Watching these young people grow with the project has given her something even deeper than community pride.
“They give me hope and promise for a great future for us,” she said.
As the Village Flower Farm continues to grow, Tara hopes to reach even more youth—offering them the same kind of purpose and connection that started it all.
To keep this project blooming, the organization is seeking donations and volunteers from the community. You can support their efforts by donating here
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