Americans are experiencing a “crisis of connection,” with half or more adults reporting signs of loneliness. In the fourth year of its Lots of Compassion initiative, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day is teaming up with Interior and Plant Stylist Hilton Carter to debut a new documentary series exploring how gardens supported through the program are helping address that challenge in communities across the country.
“My passion lies in bringing greenery indoors, so while it’s not a garden outside, I feel like the idea of a garden that changes lives,” Carter told EBONY. “When you’re nurturing what nurtures you, the benefit goes far beyond just making a space green. It brings people together.”
The program transforms vacant lots across the country into thriving community gardens, connecting, enhancing well-being, improving access to fresh food and cultivating compassion nationwide. “I’m from Baltimore and grew up in the city, and seeing how the lack of green spaces changed, how [my community] operated through the city, and if there were more green spaces, the things that we were doing, those negative things that we were into, could have been positive,” Carter said.
Since launching in 2023, Lots of Compassion has transformed more than 110,000 square feet of garden space, supported by the program’s 30 garden grants to date, and benefited more than 45,000 community members nationwide. Through partnerships with local organizations and leaders, the initiative continues to turn underused spaces into vibrant places where neighbors gather, learn and grow together.
“I knew that when I went to spaces that had greenery, it brought a smile to my face,” he said. “To me, seeing that and seeing how it pulls people together, I feel like that’s the thing that’s important, in terms of lots of compassion and how they’ve impacted these communities.”
At a time when community is more important than ever, these spaces connect neighbors and community members. They support mental and physical well-being, expand access to fresh food in their communities, and create opportunities for people to come together, learn from one another, and take pride in the places they cultivate.
“Something so simple can connect so many different people and help so many others, not necessarily by providing them with food, but mental health, and a place to find a friend, and these communities are bringing people together,” he said. “I want to inspire people to bring the outside in and to cultivate that joy, that happiness, that compassion indoors.”