Reading Time: 3 minutes

Last winter, a vacant lot between West Concordia Avenue and North 12th Street in Milwaukee was buried in snow waiting to become a community garden. Now, hundreds of children from We Got This Milwaukee are spending their summer making each plot flourish and using the garden as a safe haven to look out for each other and build character. 

We Got This Milwaukee works with youths ages 10 to 18 to maintain 15 formerly vacant lots in the 53206 ZIP code by planting produce and flowers to give away to residents for free, while also cleaning up the neighborhood. The work helps build leadership skills through paid opportunities, organizers say.

“We have about 200 kids here, and that’s a big turnout,” said Bri Stokes, adult leader of We Got This Milwaukee. “I love teaching them about gardening, working a real job and the responsibilities of it.”

Stokes has worked with children to help develop the newest garden, Coaches Corner. 

In February, the garden was still in the planning process. Now it has eight rows and over 2,000 square feet of growing space.

“Last week, we planted about 60 trees and some berries,” Stokes said.

Developing a soft spot for children

For the children, the garden is more than just a place to plant. It’s also a place to gain understanding of what matters to them most. 

Nickyle Caraway, 17, a student leader of We Got This Milwaukee, said he chooses to work in the garden because he loves watching over the little kids. 

“When I was a little kid, I wasn’t getting watched over that much so I had to learn the hard way coming up to where I am now,” Caraway said.

He said he recently walked some of the younger children to the corner store and bought them all snacks with his personal money because he saw how hard they worked in the garden.

“I remember people used to come up and bless me when I was younger and that made me happy, so now I always try to bless the little kids too, especially if I got it,” he said. “I bless people a lot so I know one day that will all come back to me.”

Caraway describes Coaches Corner as a kid-friendly spot where surrounding residents show hospitality when they drive or walk by.

Growing into a different person

North Side resident Ambrea Sanders, 15, said she doesn’t do the work for the money as she’s just proud of her growth in resolving conflict and building relationships with people she never thought she would. 

“It’s been nice working here because I haven’t got into any arguments because everyone’s been respectful, and if I did, I knew how to resolve it peacefully with no fighting,” Sanders said.

Sanders said she’s also pleased with how her experience working in Coaches Corner has helped her with certain life skills, like taking critiques from others, time management and more. 

“I learned how to take feedback on things I’ve done and what I should do,” she said. “The hardest part about working is waking up on time.”

Tackling something new

David Thomas, 10, who lives in Hillside, said his first year with We Got This Milwaukee has been fun. 

“I never planted before, but the experience has been good for me because at first I didn’t know most of these people here and now I do,” he said. 

Thomas said the hardest part about planting has been digging because the wood chips can get in the way. He said he’s looking forward to learning other new things like how to water plants properly and joining the cleanup crew. 

Standing in this together

Thomas and Caraway encourage their peers to join them in the gardens weekly, so they can learn more skills. 

“Everybody here has something going on for themselves, and we have the leadership, integrity, teamwork and discipline,” Caraway said. “Everybody should be conquering their goals here.” 

If you are interested in becoming a part of We Got This Milwaukee this summer, the youths meet up every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon through August at the original organization’s community garden between North 9th and West Ring streets.

Children 10 and under get paid $10, other ages are paid $20, and student leaders receive $40 for working on a Saturday. 

Click here to sign up.

A new Milwaukee garden gives youths a place to learn, connect and look out for each other is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Reading Time: 6 minutes

On Milwaukee’s North Side, women 40 and up are coming together to jump double Dutch. Members say that beyond the ropes they are building a sisterhood, strengthening their health and becoming confident in aging.

40+ Double Dutch Club is a nonprofit founded in Chicago by Pamela Robinson in 2016 that uses double Dutch and other fitness activities to encourage wellness, sisterhood, mental health and more for women over 40.

“It amazes me how God can use something as simple as a plastic clothesline to connect women all over the world,” said Robinson, who is also the group’s CEO and board president. 

Robinson, 55, launched the organization after discussing the idea with her friend Catrina Dyer-Taylor. At the time she was battling depression. 

“My husband and I were about to get divorced, my oldest kids were grown and I just had my youngest one in the house,” Robinson said. “I needed to find a happy place.”

She promoted the meetup on social media, and many of her friends and community members came out to support her.

“I remember telling (Dyer-Taylor) that if no one came then we’d tie the ropes to a fence and jump together,” Robinson said. “However, we never had to do that because our friends came out.” 

Since being founded, the organization has expanded into hundreds of subclubs nationwide, including Milwaukee’s. 

“I knew that God wanted me to do something and it’s given me purpose and he has put me on a path where 40+ Double Dutch is a part of that,” said Angela Scott, captain and founder of Milwaukee’s double Dutch subclub.

Launching the Milwaukee subclub

Scott, 54, established the 40+ Double Dutch subclub in Milwaukee in 2024 after discovering the organization on Facebook. She took weekend trips to Chicago and sometimes Texas to participate with women of the club.

“The feeling I got from the ladies when I entered the gym was like I’ve known them all my life,” Scott said. 

As a breast cancer survivor, Scott said she was glad to have found something that brought her comfort that wasn’t a traditional gym space. 

“Double Dutching is a full body workout, and I don’t like the gym, but I knew I needed something to keep my body moving and to keep cancer out of my body,” Scott said.

Once officially joining 40+ Double Dutch, Scott talked to Robinson about bringing a subclub to Milwaukee.

“She said that they had been wanting one in Milwaukee, they just had no one that was interested and committed,” Scott said.

Milwaukee’s subclub now consists of 37 members. Among them is Scott’s mother, Shirley Tomlinson, 76, who is the first and oldest member.

“I feel like my family has grown here and that’s a very positive thing for a person my age,” Tomlinson said. “It helps keep me feeling young, and there’s a lot of support in it.”

Tomlinson said she joined the club after hearing about her daughter’s Chicago experience and watching the film “Beyond the Ropes: The 40+ Double Dutch Club Documentary.“

Though Tomlinson doesn’t jump double Dutch, she does other things for the subclub like record keeping, videography, planning birthday celebrations and more. 

“I do everything I can because I’m my daughter’s ride or die,” she said.

Reliving childhood memories

Scott said double Dutch gives her a joyous nostalgia from growing up, especially as she learned how to double Dutch from her aunt who was like a big sister.

“If you were a girl that jump-roped, then you know it takes you back to that space,” Scott said. 

When the Milwaukee subclub appears at local events like the Juneteenth parade, residents typically will jump in the ropes with smiles and recall memories as they walk down the streets.

“As you watch us grow, you can see God’s hand in it,” Tomlinson said.

The women of Milwaukee’s subclub meet from 6:30 to 8 p.m. every Wednesday at Abundant Faith Church of Integrity, 7830 W. Good Hope Road.

The meet typically begins with a stretch, then leads to open play that includes dances and songs to let them double Dutch, hula hoop or play a rhythmic game. 

One fitness activity recreated by 40+ Double Dutch is African Hopscotch, which includes members jumping to a song called “Double Dutch Bus” by Frankie Smith and sometimes holding pompoms. 

To end the session, members close with a double Dutch hymn followed by a circle of prayer. 

“We hold hands and then we sing the song,” Scott said. “Regardless of what meet you go to each one will have the same format.”

Building a strong sisterhood

Scott said the relationships being built at the club remind her of the organization’s mission. 

“Part of the mission is friendship, fitness, fun and fellowship,” she said. “All of those things resonate with me and in my spirit because it’s a sisterhood that’s based on God’s direction.”

When away from the ropes, members try to support each other in different ways.

“There are several of the ladies in our club that have businesses, and we’ll do anything to support them,” Scott said. 

For Tomlinson, who experienced a few health crises this year, it brought relief knowing that there was a sisterhood standing behind her.

“They reached out to me and let me know they were praying for me,” she said. “It’s like having a big family of daughters.”

Achieving long-term goals

Within the next few years, Scott hopes to see the subclub grow in membership and the women begin to intentionally take more time for themselves.

“I truly believe that a healthy and strong woman makes a healthy and strong world because we are the mothers of this world,” she said. “If the woman is not healthy mentally, physically or spiritually, then the world is not healthy.”

Another goal of hers is to visit with incarcerated women. 

“For whatever reason that they’re there, I just want to take them out of that space for just 30 to 40 minutes,” she said. 

Tomlinson said it amazes her to see her daughter lead, receive support from the community and promote health to other women. 

“It’s been wonderful watching her grow and watching how dedicated she is because that’s a big responsibility,” she said.

How to join 40+ Double Dutch Club

If you are a woman over 40 and interested in joining, click here to find a subclub near you and find details about weekly meetups.

Membership is $120 and includes a digital ID card, access to all nationwide subclubs, subclub support and more. 

Scott said the summer has been the busiest time for the organization and wants to remind women that you don’t have to jump to be a part of it. 

“People are starting to realize we’re in the city and we like it that way because the more women that know then the more that can be impacted by what we have to offer,” she said.

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Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

‘You can see God’s hand in it’: How Milwaukee women are building a double Dutch community through sisterhood and fitness is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.