A Big Thank-You to Farm Camp Scholarship Program Donors and Community Partners!

Farm Camp is now in it's second week! Children from across the metro area are coming to Arcadia to learn about farming, food, and fun. From growing to cooking, campers get to explore the many exciting aspects of fresh, local food. Our campers become little farmers and cooks right here on the farm.

Where else can kids spend a whole week learning to care for chickens, working beside a farmer, and eating veggies straight off a farm? The unique experiences children have at Arcadia Farm Camp help lay the foundation for an interest in food, nutrition, and farming. Who knows, maybe our campers are our future farmers and chefs! 

This amazing camp experience wouldn’t be possible without the help of some generous donors and partners who contributed to our Farm Camp Scholarship Program. We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the following people who helped make Farm Camp a possibility for many of our young farmers, chefs, and locavores: 

Donors

Tiff MacIsaac

Pastry Chef at Buzz Bakery, Birch &Barley, and GBD

She and her husband, Kyle Bailey, without even being asked hosted a Go Fund Me campaign to fund Farm Camp Scholarships. Tiff will be teaching her donors to make her incredible apple pie in exchange for their support.

 

Washington's Green Grocer

Green Grocer pledged to match the first $1,000 in donations from their customers through a “Farm Camp Seed” campaign in which customers could “buy” a “farm camp seed” for $1. All the proceeds were donated to fund Farm Camp Scholarships.

 

Cowgirl Creamery

The staff at D.C.'s Cowgirl Creamery East funded scholarships by donating their tips and the contents of a charity jar they have on their counter. We were totally surprised and delighted when this unannounced check arrived in the mail. 

Grassfed Media

Sacha Cohen of Grassfed Media discovered us just before Farm Camp season and generously sponsored a child. She’ll be working to spread the word about camp and all of our farm education programs, and we’re delighted to have made such a great new friend.

Our neighbor Christiane “Gigi” Hyland

As a longtime friend of Arcadia, she galloped to the rescue in June when we had more scholarship applications than we did money.  She and her husband closed the gap, and allowed us to open camp to all our applicants.

Our first scholarship donor, Anna Hoffius
We received out first donation via paypal shortly after the announcement of the scholarship fund in our monthly newsletter. Anna really got the ball rolling for our 2013 scholarships. 

These contributions allowed us to provide 25 scholarships this summer, and we plan to increase that number to 30 in 2014. To contribute to the scholarship fund for 2014, please visit the Scholarship Fund Page.

Community Partners

These Community Partners are all active organizations in the immediate area surrounding Arcadia. They worked to connect us with families who qualified for scholarships, provided translation assistance in communications with families, and spread the good word of Arcadia! 

SCAN of Northern Virginia

StopChild Abuse Now of Northern Virginia is a community based organization that aims to promote the well-being of children, improve parent-child relations and prevent child abuse and neglect by educating the community, providing direct parent education, and advocating for children in the community. 

United Christian Ministries

UCM is a nonprofit, community based organization that serving Fairfax County.They provide services including emergency assistance, employment placement and training; developmental childcare, youth services, supportive housing services, homelessness prevention and child abuse and neglect prevention.

Good Shepherd Catholic Church  

Good Shepherd is located on Mount Vernon Highway in Alexandria. All of their offerings are in both english and spanish. They are an active advocate for faith and building community in this area

Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services 

FairfaxCounty NCS  works with everyone from youth to seniors. They engage, connect and collaborate with individuals, organizations, neighborhoods, and communities to strategically plan and provide responsive services, and build capacity to support community and neighborhood solutions. 

Thanks to the support of these organizations and businesses, 25 children, for whom camp would not be possible, have the opportunity to enjoy a truly amazing week of farm and food experiences.

For more information about Farm Camp, check out: http://arcadiafood.org/arcadia-farm-camp