When you think you're having a bad day, think of Jill Weiss. She not only gardens from a wheelchair, she donates her vegetables to people with AIDS...

First, let's go back to the Torino Olympic Winter Games Closing Ceremony, where Canada invited the world to ‘come play with us’ at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. One of the special moments in the closing ceremony occurred when Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan accepted the Olympic Flag, using a specially modified wheelchair.

Vancouver resident and gardener Jill Weiss, knows what it’s like to get around in a wheelchair. Thirty-five years ago, a car accident left her disabled. But she didn’t let that stop her from digging in the dirt. In one of Vancouver’s many community gardens, I caught up with Jill as she maneuvered her wheelchair to pick lettuce.  Listen to her story. I promise you'll be inspired by her Olympic spirit.

To hear my 2-minute interview with Jill, subscribe to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or simply download/listen here to the mp3.

Across the country, grandparents are stepping in to care for children of parents that are drug addicts, in prison, working as a single parent, or simply need help caring for their kids.

Operating out of a van, a special program in Hawaii called Tutu and Me Traveling Preschool visits community centers, schools and churches, bringing grandparents, caregivers and kids together for two hours of science, reading, history, Hawaiian traditions and even gardening. ("Tutu" means grandparent in Hawaiian.) Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the program has received high praises as a model solution to a growing problem.

Listen and learn as Carrie Kowolski describes how the Tutu and Me organizers pack a van full of garden supplies to teach the how-to's and importance of gardening, Hawaii style. To listen to this inspirational interview (only 2-minutes long), subscribe to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or simply download/listen here to the mp3. Who do you know who might benefit from a program like this?