Green Beret Project Sussex planting seeds of confidence
Give a person corn and they’ll eat for one day. Teach a person how to grow corn and they’ll feed others one day.
Along Gravel Hill Road, in the Milton ZIP code, there lies a home that looks more like a homestead. In the expansive front yard, there are rows of crops, and in the back, there is a garage building that is actually a gym and food pantry. Green Beret Project Sussex, along with the Nelsons, calls the property home, and along those crop lines and in the walls of the gym, the Nelsons and others are busy teaching kids about life.
Katie Nelson served in law enforcement for 10 years before transitioning into a teaching role at Delaware Technical Community College. Wanting to serve her community beyond the classroom, Nelson wondered how she could effect positive change in her area.
“In law enforcement, you get to see a lot of results of these generational things that happen to families where you’ve got homelessness, drug addiction and this generational notion that a kid can’t go to college,” Nelson said.
The Green Beret Project, founded by Green Beret Justin Dowmen in 2016, identifies needs of communities, establishes relationships with people in various roles in those communities, and connects with the youth by simply spending time with them. Dowmen and other Green Berets, a distinguished unit in the U.S. Army, began to see the work they were doing overseas could be something they could do in their own communities.
“The Green Beret Project inserts into some of the worst neighborhoods in Delaware and beyond to reach those kids where they’re at and establish a network for them that’s going to build them up, give them support, give them life experiences, educational assistance and things of that nature,” Nelson said.
The first location was Simon Circle in Dover, an area plagued by horrific crime. Dowmen worked to establish a youth center in the neighborhood and got to know the children and families in the area. The goal was to bring the community together and establish a support network comprising businessmen, veterans, active-duty military, law enforcement and anyone else wanting to volunteer. Nelson said she spoke with Dowmen during a police training class, and Dowmen’s explanation of his new organization was something right up her alley.
Nelson began Green Beret Project Sussex in a small office space in Georgetown. A teacher in Delaware Tech’s Upward Bound, Nelson already knew of a few kids who could benefit from the program. Beginning during the pandemic, the early years of Green Beret Project Sussex comprised tutoring and work study.
“I always had this vision to get kids outside and working in the garden,” Nelson said.
The Sussex director said disadvantaged communities look much different in Sussex County than they do Dover or Wilmington. She acknowledged that the Sussex headquarters on Gravel Hill Road is not in a bad area, but she thinks it is in a good location to reach kids in Sussex while also providing Dover and Wilmington kids in the program a place to work in nature.
Nelson said her husband and investors were very supportive of the hybrid home/Green Beret Project Sussex headquarters idea when she found the Gravel Hill property. When pulling into the property, one of the first things noticed are the carefully planned crop gardens.
In the backyard, the multi-port garage has been completely dedicated to Green Beret Project Sussex. A CrossFit gym, a playhouse gym complete with a ball pit, and a food pantry are all situated in the pole building. Nelson said her goal is to build another building in a field adjacent to the multi-purpose building. The central component of the new building is a full kitchen.
“I want to reach these kids [for them] to see there’s more than just a cellphone; there’s more than just a computer screen; there’s more than just a grocery store. You can learn to do this all by yourself,” Nelson said.
During the pandemic, Nelson noticed that not only was a virtual life possible, but also that people were dedicating most of their time to their virtual life. She said by getting kids to work with their hands and grow their own food, she can teach them the value of investment and perseverance. Her goal is to show kids that even if they do not have land to grow the amount of food Green Beret Project Sussex is growing, there are still ways for them to grow their own food.
The Sussex director noticed that kids are dealing with a lot of anxiety. In her opinion, sitting in a classroom is a nightmare experience for someone struggling with anxiety. She said she believes kids really relax and open up when they have projects to focus on and tasks to do with their hands. Nelson is hoping that with a full kitchen she will be able to complete the process of showing her students how to plant, grow, process and cook their own food.
More information about the Green Beret Project is available at greenberetproject.org or by going to Green Beret Project Sussex on Facebook, where Nelson posts frequently about projects and progress. Anyone wishing to enroll in the program or donate can email katie.nelson@greenberetproject.org.
Nelson said the programs, classes and food pantry are all free.
“The only price, if you want to call it a price, is that everyone that comes has to be willing to give and receive. You’ll never be forced to do something you don’t want to do,” Nelson said.
