The 14-year-old built three raised gardening beds for the senior center as her community service project and earned her Girl Scout Silver Award.

"The raised beds will help gardening participants who are not able to bend down or are less flexible than they used to be," says Nasario Gutierrez, a gerontology specialist at the Willows.

Janet Hamma, a gardening instructor who teaches classes at the center, says Sarah's contribution has made it possible for some of her students to continue doing something they love.

Hamma says she had requested raised beds from the center, but lack of funding made that impossible. So when Sarah called the center and said she wanted to work on a project to help seniors, Gutierrez pointed her in Hamma's direction.

Sarah presented the idea of building raised beds to the center's advisory council, which gave her $300. She quickly discovered it was just enough to purchase the dirt.

She decided to solicit extra money through donations. She mailed out fundraising letters to potential donors and, several rejections later, received donations from Orchard Supply and the Metropolitan Adult Education Program. Campbell-based GKI Construction gave her money for the redwood to build the boxes.

Sarah's mother, Laurie Brant, says the redwood was expensive but Sarah wanted to build beds that would last.

With the materials in place, Sarah started the lengthy process of putting the beds together.

Sarah and her friends cut the wood at Home Depot and pre-assembled the beds at Sarah's home. The beds were then brought to the center where Sarah supervised two other teenagers, who assembled the beds. This supervision fulfilled the leadership component of the Girl Scouts' requirement for the award, but it had the other girls mumbling under their breath, Brant says. However, Sarah said she didn't just give orders, she helped as well.

On July 19, Sarah visited the center to check in with the seniors using the gardening beds.

The teenager walked around the garden with her mother looking at all the thriving plants. Pumpkins, green peppers and herbs such as sage already inhabit two of the raised beds. Tomatoes in a nearby bed are heavy with fruit about to ripen.

Doris McIntosh, 58, is in the gardening class that planted the vegetables. She said she was glad Sarah built the beds because using them was easier than squatting or trying to bend over.

John Sheehan, 64, who already had raised beds at home, was delighted he could use raised beds at the center when he attended the once-a-week gardening class.

But the class is not just about gardening; there is a sense of camaraderie as McIntosh, Sheehan and 64-year-old Mari Nomura follow their instructor around the garden, watering plants, smiling at any signs of produce and frowning at the sight of weeds. And these students get to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

"We take stuff from the garden, make something at home and come back and share it," McIntosh said.

In the past they have broken bread over pumpkin soup, zucchini and butternut squash.

In addition to Brant's helpful hand, Willow Glen residents Betty Bates and Martin Voorhaar donated a raised bed to the center, which the seniors have filled with herbs.