May 2012 - Hopewell Therapeutic Farm

New groups focus on community service and marketing

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Ann Thompson

Hopewell’s program offerings are often changing, tailoring to the resident’s needs, current season and staff and volunteer contributions. Maple sugaring consumes staff and residents in the early spring (but it’s well worth the hard work!), and the summertime is filled with trips off property (like the Indians game we attended last week).

A relatively new group led by Heather, a Hopewell volunteer, takes residents to locations all over Northeastern Ohio lending their talents and time volunteering. Most recently, the group visited Beatitude House in Warren, Ohio which is a transitional housing facility for women and children. Hopewell residents assisted in planting flowers and vegetables, trimming hedges, cleaning out beds and helped the children plant marigolds, gifts for their moms for Mother’s Day! This Saturday they will head to Geauga Humane Society’s Rescue Village where they will help mulch trails.

Another group in the early stages of development is the “Hopewell Marketing Group” (choosing a more creative name is one of our first tasks). The main goal of the group is to assist in marketing Hopewell through traditional and social media, even launching a Hopewell YouTube channel to present our program from a resident’s point of view.

The varying interests and personalities of our residents and staff are what make our community special, we all bring something unique to each day!

Resident Council leads initiative to “Keep America Beautiful”

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Ann Thompson

This Friday, Hopewell residents, staff and volunteers will head into the center of Mesopotamia to pick up litter in support of the “Keep America Beautiful” campaign. Organized by Hopewell’s Resident Council, the group plans to clean up the park in the center of town, nearby playground and baseball field and the grassy area’s surrounding the Mespo Fire Department.

Candace Carlton, Hopewell’s Compliance Officer and Clinical Manager, facilitates the resident-run council meetings and said the idea came about in the spirit of giving back. “We wanted to do volunteer work for our larger community of Mesopotamia. Residents spend a lot of time in town – attending the Memorial Day parade, Ox Roast and other events each year and they are also regular patrons of the Commons (Mespo’s General Store),” she said.

Participation in the Hopewell community is a key factor in our residents recovery, and incorporating additional opportunities where we can give back to our neighbors who have supported us adds a different element to the daily experiences residents encounter on the farm.

Volunteer Reflects on Hopewell Community and Past Season

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Ann Thompson

There was a noticeable lull following maple sapping season this spring at Hopewell. With the full-time task of gathering and boiling maple sap behind us, we turned back to our regular daily activities, both glad for the reprieve of mucking through the swampy woods of late winter and missing the meditative calm of spending entire mornings and afternoons beneath the trees.

We are floating now in the tranquil state between the urgent collecting of sapping season and the fury of summer gardening. Perhaps that is why, for those of us who have not been gathering and emptying buckets on Hopewell’s acreage for the past decade, last month’s celebratory pancake lunch came as a bit of a surprise. Everyone filed in for made-from-scratch flapjacks, crisp bacon strips from pigs raised a ten minute walk from the Inn, a variety of locally grown fruits and vegetables, and – of course – Hopewell’s own maple syrup, the smell of which greeted us as we entered the foyer.Norman, Hopewell’s resident sapping expert, read a long list of thank you’s to the residents, volunteers, and staff who helped by trudging through the woods and labeling bottles. One by one, we walked to the front of the dining area to receive our tokens of thanks: a still-warm bottle of maple syrup and a hearty handshake from Norm.

This moment encapsulated the spirit of appreciation that thrives at Hopewell, the way that all members of the community cheer on the others for their contributions. The more one struggles to give, the more enthusiastically we show our gratitude.

Share