#RichlandGives Spotlight: Taking Root Farms
Taking Root Farm’s mission is to be a part of the solution to the growing need our community faces: providing real choice, real purpose and real living opportunities for the adult with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities. Over 1 million special needs children are moving into adulthood in the next decade. In the last decade, according to the CDC, there have been at least a 78% increase in the diagnosis of developmentally disabled individuals. With the average lifespan improving, the developmentally disabled individual is living longer, creating an increasing need for quality day services and residential homes. The statistics define the overwhelming need to create opportunities for our adults: their future is long overdue.
We propose an innovative, unique approach to offering day and residential services to adult individuals with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) in Richland County. Taking Root Farm’s plan is to develop a non-profit working farm program, offering full-day services five days a week to special needs adults in our community. Our mission is to provide opportunities that promote physical, mental and social well-being. Our horticulture program will provide opportunities to grow, harvest and sell produce that is locally grown by our TRF farmers. Our small animal husbandry program will focus on the care of small farm animals including cleaning, grooming, and feeding. Vast opportunities for indoor classes include healthy lifestyle cooking and basic computer skills. All of our farm activities are enhanced by the vision TRF has to build a strong relationship with our community. By encouraging the Richland County community to be a part of our working farm, we promote relationships that demonstrate our commitment to each other. Social clubs, Eagle Scouts, FFA, local colleges all have a place at Taking Root Farms.
Thanks to the awesome Richland County community, local business/industry, the Norwex Foundation, and Richland County Foundation, we have met our financial goal to open. The Taking Root Farms board of directors is currently searching for a land donor and we are actively pursuing a CEO/Director of Operations. The goal is to begin providing services in 2018. We have participated in the Richland County Foundation Day of Giving Campaign since its inception two years ago. Each year we have been blessed by our community to rank in the top four non-profits to earn the largest sum of money during the campaign. We ask that our community continue their support by helping us meet our goal of $15,000.00 this year. This will help us purchase a van for transporting our farmers to and from the day program.
Help be a part of the solution. Help create opportunities for our community and the special needs individual to be vested in each other’s well- being. Help Taking Root Farms raise the funds necessary to promote real choice and real purpose in the lives of our sons and daughters.
Please visit our Razoo site on https://richlandgives.razoo.com/organization/Taking-Root-Farms and consider a donation to help us build the farm. For more information about Taking Root Farms, please visit our website at www.takingrootfarms.org
