Darren Chapman grew up in Phoenix and Los Angeles during the 1970s, going to school in both cities for half of the year. Darren was caught between two cities. But for Chapman, it was not much of an issue. Getting a nice long ride on to and between school and back was always enjoyable. “I would sit and look out those windows and go, ‘Wow, man. Look at all of that — just land. Birds swooping’,” he said. “For me, it was the coolest thing in the world.”
For most of Darren Chapman’s life, now 55, he felt that there were only two options for him in life. He could either make A name for himself in the rough neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Or he could create and help build up the community. Even though he was almost sure that he would never be fully accepted into it anyways.
TigerMountain Foundation Offers The Best Volunteer Opportunities In Phoenix, AZ
During these tumultuous times, many people want to become a part of their community and offer a helping hand. The Phoenix community depends on volunteers to empower the community and make it a better place. TigerMountain Foundation is a non-profit organization in Phoenix that produces community gardens and sustainable food options. We offer some of the best volunteer opportunities in Phoenix, AZ.
Why You Should Volunteer at TigerMountain Foundation
Are you someone who loves the outdoors? Do you have a “green thumb” or an affinity for landscaping? If you’ve ever wanted to be a part of a community garden, there are opportunities right in your community. You might be feeling inspired to roll up your sleeves and make an impact in the greater Phoenix community. Being a volunteer at TigerMountain Foundation means that you’ll be part of something bigger than yourself. When you volunteer with us, you will:
Learn how to grow produce that is free of chemicals
Learn about the importance of good nutrition
Develop a strong with an ethic
Gain entrepreneurial and financial knowledge
Understand how to work as a team with others from different backgrounds
It Takes A Community To Make A Garden Flourish
TigerMountain Foundation depends on volunteers like you to make a difference. Our volunteers are from different backgrounds and walk of life. Many of our volunteers are at-risk youth and adults who want to help out the community. Our volunteer teams work in challenged communities where there are high rates of incarceration, poor health choices, and a low-ranking education system.
The TigerMountain Foundation (TMF) plants fruits & veggies while cultivating better communities. This is done through community garden volunteer work. Our multi-cultural, inter-generational Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) means we don’t give a handout, we give the community a hand up.
It’s a Place To Learn and Share
Even if you have little to no experience with gardening and landscaping, you shouldn’t let this deter you from volunteering. Anyone can get started with community gardening. You’ll work with seasoned volunteers who will show you how to weed, pick up trash, build irrigation systems, maintain gardens, and prune trees. Not only will you learn the basics of gardening, but you’ll build friendships along the way with other volunteers. Our team likes to have fun and share laughs while they are hard at work.
Gardening Has Many Benefits On Your Well Being
Not only are you helping the community, but gardening and landscaping also has some amazing physical and mental benefits. For starters, you’ll be getting a great workout, between raking, weeding, and planting. Outdoor activities like gardening boost your Vitamin D and improve your heart health.
Gardening is also a great stress reliever, mood booster, and improves self-esteem. Many of us who live busy lives forget what it’s like to be connected with nature and living things. When you get your hands dirty, you’ll gain a heightened awareness and appreciation of all living organisms.
How We Empower Communities To Help Themselves
At TigerMountain Foundation, we don’t just plant fruits and vegetables. We cultivate better communities through co-op gardens in Phoenix, AZ. Here are just a few ways that we empower the community:
Restore pride in a community through the beautification of vacant lots.
Inspire people to volunteer and engage in their community.
Provide youth the skills they need to prepare them for employment—and a better life.
Provide people on-the-job opportunities through landscaping, planting in community gardens, and selling and marketing what they grow at farmers’ markets.
Volunteer Opportunities in Phoenix, AZ with TigerMountain Foundation
At TigerMountain Foundation, we have month-long volunteer events that you can attend. You can visit the Activities page to view our events and choose a date that works best for your schedule. Here are a few upcoming Volunteer Opportunities that you can look out for Fourth Saturday TMF Experience June 27 @ 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Come and Celebrate volunteering in the community at Spaces of Opportunity on the 4th Saturday of each month.
There will be lots of things to do and learn from multiple Organizations. Including a conversation relevant to living, working, and supporting our community. Light stretching to get ourselves ready to do some gardening tasks. A Healthy Roots demo and a Free Lunch. Throughout the morning there will be music and maybe some dancing.
Tour the TMF Gardens (Various Dates)
You’ll work with the TigerMountain Foundations participants in maintaining their community gardens. We meet at the Garden of Tomorrow and do some light weeding, harvesting, and planting. Then typically we go to our kitchen to prep and clean produce for our Farmers Markets. Then we go to the Spaces of Opportunity Garden and do a bit more weeding, harvesting, and planting in the TMF plots or Community Garden areas.
Help In the Community Garden (Various Dates)
Volunteers will be working in the Spaces of Opportunity Garden. We will be doing various projects to build out and maintain the garden areas. Activities could include weeding, picking up trash, building irrigation systems, building, and maintaining garden paths, Punning trees, and having some fun while engaging in our community with a healthy lifestyle initiative.
About Our Volunteer Process
Volunteers at TigerMountain Foundation are required to fill out a volunteer signup form when you register for each volunteer event. These forms include consent and release agreement and a waiver of liability. For volunteers under the age of 18, you will need a parent or guardian signature.
TigerMountain Foundation Non-Profit Organization in Phoenix, AZ
At TigerMountian Foundation, our mission is to empower communities to better themselves from within. This is done through community gardening. We empower others by building community gardens, providing job skills, support, and workforce development through neighborhood revitalization and beautification.
TigerMountain Foundation CEO Darren Chapman and many staff were formerly incarcerated and lived in the same Phoenix neighborhoods that we serve. We believe in social and economic mobility, and our strategies encourage adults and youth through our landscaping initiatives alongside capable, hard-working professionals who encourage and mentor them every step of the way.
Volunteer with TigerMountain Foundation by visiting our Activities page where you will find timeslots for volunteering. You can also make a donation to us through Fry’s Food Stores when you connect your loyalty card to TigerMountain Foundation. TigerMountain Foundation has also partnered with AmazonSmile, where a percentage of your purchases goes back to TMF. For questions or concerns about volunteering, call 602-687-7725, or send us a message here. Learn more about our organization at www.tigermountainfoundation.org.
Teenagers and gardening almost seem like the two words don’t mix right? Here at Tiger Mountain Foundation, our local community always comes first. A field-related educational experience creates an opportunity early on for students to learn about the working world. Students can make a connection between school and interesting occupation, stay motivated to graduate and gain the skills for their future career.
Hello Friends! Join us at Tiger Mountain Foundation as we will be holding a special Phoenix community garden celebration Saturday, June 11th. We will also be hosting our garden session from 8 am-11:30 am. Which includes garden volunteering, a community performance, a meal, and also a donation-based produce stand. Our Donation stand will be featuring vegetables grown within our own garden! Packed with all the fun of gardening and celebrating the community. Additionally, at Tiger Mountain Foundation, we plan on making our community a fun, happy, and safe place to grow together. For more information on Tiger Mountian Foundation, please visit TigerMountainfoundation.org.
About TigerMountain Foundation
We Don’t Just Plant Fruits & Vegetables. We Cultivate Better Communities. This is through Co-Op Gardens in Phoenix, AZ.
Our mission is simple: To empower communities to better themselves from within. We do this through community garden volunteer work through Co-Op gardens in Phoenix, AZ and landscaping initiatives. In South Phoenix, and other challenged communities where we work, there are high rates of incarceration, poor health choices, and also a low ranking education system. So how do we combat these challenges? Asset Based Community Development (ABCD). That just means we don’t give a handout, we give the community a hand up.
The TigerMountain Foundation (TMF) plants fruits & veggies while cultivating better communities. Above all, this is done through community garden volunteer work. Overall, our multi-cultural, inter-generational Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) means we don’t give a handout, we give the community a hand up.
Here at Tiger Mountain Foundation, we make it our goal to help our local community become great and grow together as one. We work with Spaces of Opportunity Garden Phoenix. That said our community garden helps those who are in need. The TigerMountain Foundation reverses problems through our community gardens and landscaping initiatives. These initiatives teach practical life skills to kids, adults, and seniors, keeping them out of jail, and improving their lives and community.
The Tiger Mountian Foundation empowers the community to help itself as well as bringing our fruits and veggies to local farmer’s markets. Our multi-cultural, inter-generational Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) means we don’t give a handout, we give the community a hand up.
Agriscaping, What is it?
Agriscaping with Tiger Mountain is truly an incredible experience. But first, let’s go over the basics of Agriscaping. Agriscaping is also a foundation of a landscape that creatively and elegantly integrates elements of productive agriculture. So, it does this by means of growing produce (edible fruits, vegetables, and herbs). Also, it could be growing other useful plants to reduce useless consumption, landfill waste, and water usage.
We have been proud to help our communities GROW. TigerMountain’s mission is to improve local food access & sustainability by transforming landscapes into elegant, edible food gardens. These can also be easily managed with the help of online tools, education, and professional support.
#GivingTuesday (said: hashtag giving Tuesday) is on Tuesday, December 1, 2020. Charities, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world will come together for one common purpose. To celebrate and encourage giving.
TigerMountain encourages you to get involved in #GivingTuesday. Give back in a way that is meaningful to you. From fundraising to volunteering to pro bono service, #GivingTuesday is a great way to engage with your community and to become a part of a larger worldwide movement that promotes generosity.
About TigerMountain Foundation
Challenged Communities need help. The TigerMountain Foundation reverses that problem through our community gardens and landscaping initiatives. These initiatives teach practical life skills to kids, adults and seniors, keeping them out of jail, and improving their lives and community. We are a Non-Profit Community Garden located in Phoenix, AZ. See more of TigerMountain Foundation at work in the Video Library.
The mission of TigerMountain Foundation (TMF) is to empower people by building flourishing community gardens, providing job skills, support and workforce development through neighborhood revitalization and beautification with our multi-ethnic and multi-generational initiatives. TMG helped 1123 persons plus their families and friends in 2018. Also many of whom were referred to us through parole/justice systems. Another 2200 volunteer mentors also helped us accomplish this outreach initiative to resolve food scarcity and educate participants on job skills to earn a living wage. An additional 3,000 also gained knowledge through speaking engagements. Funding has generally been from grants and individual and corporate donors. However, in 2019 has seen a major push for self-sufficiency through our agriscaping (agricultural landscaping) initiatives and farmers market sales.
TigerMountain Foundation (TMF) will be joining Arizona Gives Day, along with hundreds of other nonprofits from all over the state on Tuesday, April 4, to raise much-needed funds. Through azgives.org, Arizonans will be able to support their favorite nonprofit(s) for exactly 24 hours of virtual giving to strive for additional cash incentive prizes. Sponsored by FirstBank, this 5th annual day of fundraising is a community-led effort to invest in our state.
Arizona Gives Day is a grassroots, statewide single day of giving. Inviting Arizonans to find their favorite causes at azgives.org on April 4, 2017. Donate day-of or schedule their donations in advance. Hosted by the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits and Arizona Grantmakers Forum and also presented by FirstBank. Arizona Gives Day has raised $7.4 million for Arizona nonprofits since its founding in 2013.
Improving Arizona
Arizona Gives and Arizona Gives Day is a collaboration between the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits and Arizona Grantmakers that began in 2013. Together, they have raised over $23 million for Arizona’s non-profit sector. Every April, this 24-hour, statewide online campaign takes place. Arizona Gives’ purpose is to allow others to discover, learn, and contribute to causes that they believe in. It also enables non-profits to share their stories and engage in the community through a unique platform. Arizona Gives Day helpsraise awareness about Arizona nonprofits and the critical role they play in our communities and state. Additionally, it inspires people to give generously to nonprofits making our state stronger, creating a thriving community for all.
Even Though Arizona Gives Day only happens once a year, Arizona Gives (AZGives.org) is available for year-round giving. Donors can create a donor account to pre-schedule donations, set-up recurring donations and make changes to their giving throughout the year or they can checkout as a guest and give immediately. Donors can also use the advanced search filters to find nonprofits by the criteria they choose such as location, focus area or even which organization qualify for an AZ tax credit.
Building a tribe starts with a shelter of comfort and security. When others join you or you join others, deciding how to treat each other and what agreements are they, are crucial. Next, what is your contribution to the tribe? building fire, cooking, collecting food, wood, water, etc? Nowadays we have more options to choose from, it can be anything closest to your desires. What and how do you want to contribute? Lets talk about getting paid doing what we love. Finally, our body. Let’s make sure we eat, rest, and care for our body. These are the four topics we talk about on how to live better together. March2gether Phoenix is a mastermind think tank group based in Phoenix, Arizona. We are a collection of great minds. Our mission is to share, create, and execute ideas to live better together.
About TigerMountain Foundation
Our mission is simple: To empower communities to better themselves from within. We do this through community garden volunteer work through Co-Op gardens in Phoenix, AZ and landscaping initiatives. In South Phoenix, and other challenged communities where we work, there are high rates of incarceration, poor health choices and a low ranking education system. So how do we combat these challenges? Asset Based Community Development (ABCD). That just means we don’t give a hand out, we give the community a hand up.
Special Community Garden in Phoenix: Tiger Mountain Foundation. Hello Friends! Tiger Mountain Foundation is holding a special community garden celebration on Saturday, July 9th, At the beautiful Spaces of Opportunity Garden. Come celebrate with us as we will be hosting our garden session from 8 am to 11:30 am. You are not going to want to miss the coming together of our community. With everything from community performance to seed harvesting, The Tiger Mountain Foundation is happy to bring everyone together with the love of nature and life. We will also be finishing off the session off with a wonderfully prepared meal. Featuring some of our homes have grown fruits and vegetables.
We will also have our donation-based produce stand featuring vegetables grown in our garden! For more information, please visit TigerMountainfoundation.org.
What is Agri-Landscape?
Agri-Landscape with Tiger Mountain is truly an incredible experience. But first let’s go over the basics of Agri-Landscape. Agri-Landscape is a foundation of a landscape that creatively and elegantly integrates elements of productive agriculture. It does this by means of growing produce (edible fruits, vegetables, and herbs). Also, it could be growing other useful plants to reduce useless consumption, landfill waste, and water usage.
We have been proud to help our communities GROW. TigerMountain’s mission is to improve local food access & sustainability by transforming landscapes into elegant, edible food gardens. These also can be easily managed with the help of online tools, education, and professional support.
Economic/Community Development– TMF also has a profound impact on the lives of at-risk youth and their families in the community by presenting them a healthy eating and living lifestyle. We provide tangible value in the community through our intergenerational, multicultural experiential learning sessions which impact food scarcity. Additionally, we provide gardens with nutritious, chemical-free fruits, and vegetables. TigerMountain Foundation also empowers participants and their families with skills to be valuable employees or have the knowledge to start their own backyard gardens to resolve their food scarcity issues.
Garden Celebration: Garden Of Tomorrow. Hello Friends! Tiger Mountain Foundation is holding a special community garden celebration Saturday, May 28th.
We will be hosting our garden session from 8 am-11:30 am which also includes garden volunteering, a community performance, a meal, and also a donation-based produce stand featuring vegetables grown in our garden! For more information, please visit the Garden of Tomorrow Facebook Page. Additionally, we host many Phoenix Community Events.
We Cultivate Better Communities – Through Co-Op Gardens in Phoenix, AZ
Our mission is simple: To empower communities to better themselves from within. We also do this through community garden volunteer work through Co-Op gardens in Phoenix, AZ and landscaping initiatives. In South Phoenix, and other challenged communities where we work, there are high rates of incarceration, poor health choices, and a low ranking education system. So how do we combat these challenges? Asset Based Community Development (ABCD). That just means we don’t give a hand out, instead we give the community a hand up.
Many of the staff, including CEO Darren Chapman, are also formerly incarcerated persons from the very neighborhoods we serve. Our advisors and 8 board members come from administrative positions in such large organizations. These include Vitalyst Health, Bank of America, and Keep Phoenix Beautiful. We are an Arizona Qualified Charity and receive tax credit donations plus receive individual donations through various employer payroll deductions.
How We Empower Communities To Help Themselves
Restore pride in a community through beautification of vacant lots.
Inspire people to volunteer and engage in their community.
Provide youth the skills they need to prepare them for employment—and also a better life.
Provide people on-the-job opportunities through landscaping, planting in community gardens, and also selling and marketing what they grow at farmers’ markets.
