A Letter From JVTF Executive Director
If you’ve seen our Interns and Apprentices this Summer, you’ve probably seen them wearing a shirt that says, “WE GROW HERE” on the back. As I reflect on last school year, I can honestly say it was a year of learning and growing for our organization. As you may remember, we launched a new partnership with NY SunWorks and began growing hydroponically in 8 Birmingham City schools on the West Side. This was new for us, for teachers, and for students. The process was filled with surprises, challenges, successes, disappointments, and beautiful growth. It was a reminder that when we dare to take risks, do something different, and lean into our own vulnerabilities while learning something new, we grow as humans and as leaders at every age.
As I look back on a year filled with uncertainties, I am reminded that Jones Valley Teaching Farm’s foundation is incredibly resilient and tender, strong and malleable, assured and curious. As we look to next year, I am eager to build on all of the lessons learned so we can demonstrate to young people that we can embrace the BOTH / AND—especially in a time that asks us to choose sides. Our willingness to take risks, to ask more of ourselves, to inch our way past the expectations we set is because you continue to bet on us. I recognize that it also requires you to give a little more, to expect a little more, and to take those risks with us. We know how lucky we are to belong to a community of people who continue to push us, walk alongside us, dream with us, and support us in only the ways you do. Just as we plant our seeds early in the season so that we can yield a bountiful harvest later, we are asking you to do the same with a simple donation—no matter how big or small. Thanks to you, “WE absolutely GROW HERE!”
