Community Gardens, Youth, Safety

Nariah Eubanks was only 12 years old when she started spending her Saturdays at We Got This, a Milwaukee summer program that pays youth to clean up neighborhoods and learn gardening. Andre Lee Ellis started We Got This after being frustrated with the rising violence in the city. The program has been serving the community for over 12 years by paying youth $20 for four hours of service work every Saturday, throughout the summer, along with providing mentorship.

According to the website, the youth of the We Got This program learn the basics of gardening and care for the organization’s garden spaces in neighborhoods. The youth develop skills in communication, collaboration, and problem-solving through garden work, like weeding garden beds, planting trees, and figuring out how to bring water to newer garden spaces.

Eubanks joined the program after We Got This board member Meg Bruzan visited her school. Since being in the program, Eubanks has learned the art of patience. She’s even been promoted to a student leader, where she receives double the pay, tends to the garden throughout the week, and guides younger youth.

“It’s a part of me now,” said Eubanks. “I feel joy. I feel excited.”

Over the four years, Eubanks has grown a variety of things, including strawflowers, cucumbers, squash, watermelon, tomatoes, and blackberries. She’s used some of the vegetables she’s grown in the garden to create dishes at home like rotel, which she said was a major hit a her brother’s baby shower.

Eubanks gave Carvd N Stone a quick tour of the garden with a smile on her face. She showed us the coop house, taught us the names of a few flowers, and gave us a glimpse of the radishes, basil, and sage growing.

“It’s a safe space. It’s somewhere you can be without someone judging you,” said Eubanks.

By gardening, 16-year-old Eubanks feels she is directly giving back to her community, which she wants to continue to do in her future career as a CNA.

“I like helping people, and that’s a way of me saying I’m giving back to people,” said Eubanks. “I like helping people, whether I’m getting paid or not.”

Eubanks is one of the many youth who’ve been impacted by We Got This.

As summer comes to a close, We Got This is giving away free vegetables from the garden on August 30, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST at the main community garden on the corner of 9th and Ring St. in Milwaukee. Kids will also be selling bouquets for $20 that can be reserved here.

Continuing Andre Lee Ellis’ Legacy

Ellis is a man of the community who has changed lives, young and old. Through Ellis’s leadership, thousands of youth have received mentorship while being paid for their work in the community.

Board member Bruzan said there have been times when 140 youth have shown up on a Saturday. Some come as early as 6:30 a.m. to grab a spot when work doesn’t start till 8 a.m.

In 2025, We Got This has directly given $40,000 in stipends to youth, mainly from the 53206 area. According to Bruzan, 100% of that money was funded by donations from community members; no grants were involved.

Ellis’s move to bring change in his community has created waves. He officially stepped down from We Got This in 2021, but the program continues with the help of a board.

“This organization has impacted kids and has raised their self-esteem,” said Bruzan. She added that the community gardens provide leadership and community.

According to a Facebook post, this summer, We Got This youth completed 7,000 hours of community service and picked up 15,000 gallons of trash. We Got This also gave away $5,000 worth of school supplies through community donations.

We Got This is open to middle and high schoolers.

To donate to We Got This, click here.