A member of our Board of Directors recently made a generous  memorial gift to our organization to support the purchase of a new greenhouse on the farm, and a second long-time supporter of our farm made a gift to help with construction costs for the structure! We’re planning for a dedication ceremony soon, so we aren’t able to celebrate these generous donors quite yet. But we’re really excited to share these sneak peek photos of the structure with you.

An image of our smaller greenhouse for comparison.

Our new greenhouse — as well as the hoop houses and, really, every moment on our small farm — has a very special connection to our mission to end intimate partner abuse. Five years ago, we renamed our organization GreenHouse17. The number in our name references the counties we serve in central Kentucky and the greenhouse part of our name…well, that’s about how we do our work.

A greenhouse nurtures plants to grow healthy and strong, even in harsh weather. In the same way, we commit to nurture lives harmed, helping them to grow and flourish and leave the trauma of abuse behind. Beyond the physical benefits of sunshine and fresh air, eating vegetables from the garden models good nutrition and healthy eating habits for parents and kids.

Adult survivors may choose to help on the farm in exchange for a weekly stipend. Harvesting produce, arranging floral bouquets, and making value-added products develop new skills and recent workplace experience as survivors find healing and rebuild their lives. We are working toward self-sustaining farm operation that, eventually, will provide revenue for our agency.

“In our figuring out how to do a business, we’re a role model for survivors,” Diane explains. “We’ve made a few missteps along the way, but our mistakes are a reminder. You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to have all your ducks in a row to start something because we’re all in this together.”

Our farm also provides opportunities for the community to engage in the mission to end intimate partner abuse. Diane and Liz from our team went live on Facebook from the new greenhouse to talk about the power of community support support during last week’s Kentucky Gives Day.  Watch them sweat it out in the video below and learn more about why this new structure matters so much to our organization.

Diane and Liz went live in our new greenhouse to talk about Kentucky Gives Day! Your #KYGives18 donation will support survivors of intimate partner abuse on their journey of safety, healing, and self-sufficiency. Here is the link to make your gift today: https://www.kygives.org/organizations/greenhouse17

Posted by GreenHouse17 on Tuesday, May 22, 2018