On August 27, members of the Java Community Process (JCP) Program Management Office joined Westside Clubhouse in San Francisco for Growing Together, a hands-on volunteer experience centered on connection, encouragement, and community.
Working side by side, volunteers and Clubhouse members planted small indoor plants, filled pots with soil, watered and personalized their creations, and paired each plant with a message of encouragement. The activity provided an opportunity not only to create something together, but also to connect through conversation and a shared experience.
The Idea Behind Growing Together
Westside Clubhouse is a community-based psychosocial rehabilitation program supporting adults living with serious mental illness. The Clubhouse provides opportunities for members to build relationships, participate in meaningful activities, and strengthen their sense of community and belonging.
The inspiration for Growing Together grew out of Oracle’s volunteer experience with Westside Clubhouse the previous year. This year’s project was led by Pranavi Khanna, one of our summer Software Engineer interns, who was struck by how invested Clubhouse members had been in the previous activity, taking initiative, working thoughtfully, and showing pride in what they created.
Building on that experience, Growing Together was designed to give each participant an opportunity to create something they could make their own. Volunteers and Clubhouse members selected individual indoor plants and pots and worked alongside one another to bring their creations to life. Encouragement cards created by remote volunteers extended the experience beyond those able to participate in person.
“It was really nice to see that idea come to life. Everyone was choosing their plants and pots, helping each other, and really making the activity their own,” said Khanna.
After the event, the plants were placed throughout the Clubhouse, allowing the entire community to continue enjoying what participants created together. Each plant represented growth and new beginnings, while the encouragement cards accompanying them offered simple reminders of kindness and support. Together, these small gestures reflected the spirit of the event: creating connection by working alongside one another.
Working Side by Side
For volunteers who gathered at Westside Clubhouse, the heart of the experience was working directly alongside Clubhouse members.
Rather than simply completing a project for the community, volunteers and members participated together by choosing plants and pots, preparing soil, planting, and sharing conversations along the way. Each person had the opportunity to make choices and create something that felt personal to them.
In one instance, a Clubhouse member selected a grey pot because it was their favorite color and chose a succulent they hoped would be easy to care for. When the group realized the pot did not have the drainage the succulent needed, they worked together to find a solution. The plant was placed in a properly draining pot, with the original grey pot serving as its decorative outer pot.
Those conversations and moments of collaboration were a memorable part of the experience for volunteers, too. When asked what stood out most from the day, Harold Ogle, Principal Program Manager, pointed to “talking with each of the Clubhouse members about gardening and the care for succulents versus leafy flowers as we transplanted their choices of plants.”
For Joe Strzemp, Principal Data Engineer, seeing everyone contribute was equally rewarding. “It felt good to volunteer and to see all the contributions and to see the dedication of the people who work there every day to help others,” he said.
Through those conversations, choices, and moments of problem-solving, the activity gave volunteers and Clubhouse members a chance to create something together while connecting over a shared experience.
Connecting from Afar
Growing Together also gave JCP team members who couldn’t be in San Francisco an opportunity to participate. From the early stages of planning, the team wanted to ensure that those who could not attend in person still had a meaningful way to contribute.
Encouragement cards became that connection. Remote volunteers created messages that were paired with the plants, offering words centered on kindness, growth, and positivity. For remote volunteer Kailas Jawadekar, Senior Principal Technical Program Manager, the cards offered a way to stay connected to the experience from afar. “When writing the card, I focused on simple kindness and steady growth, hoping to share a small reminder that brightens someone’s day,” he said.
Paired with the plants created at the Clubhouse, the cards brought the contributions of in-person and remote volunteers together as part of the same shared experience.
Making an Impact, Together
By the end of the event, the impact could be seen not only in the finished plants, but also in the connections created throughout the experience.
- 6 JCP team members participated in person
- 4 JCP team members participated remotely
- 15 Clubhouse members participated
- 22 plants were created
- 20 encouragement cards were contributed
- 34 total volunteer hours
Growing Together
The name Growing Together captured what the event was ultimately about. Growth can happen through something tangible, like caring for a plant, but it can also happen through conversation, collaboration, kindness, and the willingness to spend time alongside someone else.
Thank you to Westside Clubhouse, its members, and every volunteer who contributed their time, creativity, and encouragement to make the experience possible.
