Staff photo / Chris McBride A crew including city officials, Foxconn workers and area residents take a photo in front of a sign marking Mary Ann Franklin Way during a cleanup of the area Monday. Franklin was a pioneer of the community garden.

WARREN — Bright and early in the city’s 6th Ward, a dedicated group of volunteers from Foxconn on Monday were helping to breathe new life into the Community Victory Garden located off York Avenue SW.

Frederick Lyons, a quality supervisor at Foxconn and a 6th Ward native, along with a team of volunteers, has spent the past week transforming the garden, located on the former Horace Mann School property, into a modernized space for holistic wellness and sustainable agriculture.

The Community Victory Garden was originally established by Mary Ann Franklin in the late 2000s with the community group Community Concerned Citizens (CCC). She was honored with a street sign in 2019 commemorating the transformation of the space into one that housed room for about 50 adult gardens and 30 for younger kids.

She, alongside other CCC members like David Ruffin, Don Woodard, Eugene Dawson, Charles Prince, Helene Hugley, and Michael McGhee, helped establish the garden as well. Ruffin had been the one to initially pitch the idea.

The area of the 6th ward where the garden is located is considered a food desert, where access to fresh fruits and vegetables is limited.

“We wanted to make it available where people could come out and grow their own fruits and vegetables,” said David Ruffin, a founding member. “At one point, this place looked like a jungle. It was so beautiful.”

Over the years, however, the garden fell into disrepair as its original caretakers aged, and younger generations struggled to maintain the plots.

Warren City Councilwoman Honyea Price, D-6th Ward, said she has a vision to transform the garden into Victory Haven Urban Therapeutic Gardens and Wellness Center. With a $40,000 budget supported by grants from the Community Foundation and partnerships with Warren City Schools, Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, Grace AME, and the Urban League, Price said she wants to create a sustainable sanctuary that eventually will come to feature 100 raised garden beds, a greenhouse and wellness programs like yoga, meditation and youth-focused therapeutic activities.

“This is phase two,” Price said. “We’re modernizing it, making it sustainable. It’s not just about gardening — it’s a place for holistic healing, where people can come to meditate, pray, or do yoga.”

The revitalization includes landscaping, irrigation systems, and organic farming practices, with plans to cultivate medicinal herbs and offer educational workshops.

For Lyons, the project is deeply personal.

“I grew up in the 6th Ward,” he said. “This was a community that raised me. Now, with jobs coming back through companies like Foxconn, it feels amazing to give back and beautify this area for my kids and grandkids.”

His team, including production team lead Matt Hukill, and others like Vince Fusco, Logan and Carl Williams, has worked tirelessly to clear weeds, level burial areas and install raised beds. Their efforts began July 22 and are set to conclude today, marking a significant milestone in the garden’s revival.

Hukill talked about the impact of Foxconn’s involvement likening it to the days of the former GM plant.

“It’s about putting a positive face on the company,” he said. “We’re not just here to take over the old GM plant — we’re here to give back.”

The volunteers also have tackled other community projects, including cleanups at the Summit Street Bridge, the VFW in downtown Warren, and the Veterans Affairs building, as well as plans to participate in the Canfield Fair in late August.

Don Woodard, another founding member, reflected on the garden’s early days when community members gathered at dawn to tend plots and share camaraderie.

“There’s nothing like planting something, picking it, and eating it fresh,” he said. “Young people don’t know that feeling, but it’s so much better than store-bought.”

He hopes the revitalization will inspire a new generation to embrace gardening’s rewards.

Price’s five-year plan for Victory Haven includes creating a membership model to make it more financially sustainable, with revenue from herbal product sales, wellness services and educational programs. The project already has garnered support from 55 volunteers from a local church.

“This is about more than a garden,” Price said. “It’s about building a community where people can heal and grow together.”

Last month, NorthMar Church also participated in helping beautify the area, sending about 50 volunteers.