History
A Christmas gift transforms the Signal Hill Community.
On one Christmas Eve, Ed Dougherty surprised donna with a “summer home” he purchased at 15 South 95th Street. After further inspection, the couple found the house standing on the property to be in complete disrepair and decided to demolish the house.
At a Signal Hill Neighborhood Association meeting, a neighbor suggested a community garden be established in the vacant lot. The Dougherty’s agreed that a garden would be fabulous for the community and named it the 95th Street Garden. The ground had a lot of rock and concrete after the demolition, so the decision was made to put in raised beds. These 42 beds still remain in the garden today.
Carrying on the Legacy
Donna’s generous donation allows the garden to continue to grow.
Donna sold her home to the Hopson family in mid 2021. After moving, the continued maintenance of the 95th Street Garden became challenging to manage from a distance. Donna stayed in contact with Serena Hopson after the sale of her home. After Donna shared plans to donate the garden to the City of Belleville, Serena suggested the creation of a non-profit organization. Serena wanted to ensure Donna’s legacy would live on in the community.
Serena established the nonprofit organization in October 2023, and Donna donated the 95th Street Garden to the new organization. The garden was rebranded as the Signal Hill Community Garden and Serena serves as President of the Board today.
Beds are still available to rent by members of the community. Any un-rented beds are utilized to for sharing harvest with the community.
Meet the Board
Serena Hopson
President
Renee Henderson
Vice-President
Marcus Pajda
Treasurer
Usha Karathanos
Member
Nan Kammann-Judd
Member
Dennis Judd
Member