Disability Action Center needs your vote in online contest

Sep. 19--FAIRMONT -- The Disability Action Center and Homestead Farm Center are re-starting a campaign to 'raise the roof' and need the public's help to make it work.

In 2018, the two organizations collaborated to enter the State Farm Neighborhood Assist grant program, to build a Rural to Urban Agricultural Learning outdoor classroom, which is located in Grafton, for their clients. The organizations managed to win enough votes to receive the grant and build part of the project.

Now DAC Executive Director Julie Sole said the groups have moved on to phase two of the project, which requires additional funding.

"The 2018 funds, those went to the outdoor classroom, and that's what we're trying to complete," Sole said. "That first phase that State Farm Neighborhood Assist funded in 2018 was the pavilion structure."

In Raise the Roof Part Two, Sole said, the nonprofit hopes to add accessible restrooms and build a teaching kitchen where students can receive "true farm to table instruction."

The DAC's Rural to Urban Agricultural Learning outdoor classroom in Grafton includes a 40-foot by 60-foot pavilion structure with a metal roof that was built through Raise the Roof Part 1.

According to Sole, the Homestead Farm Center has been trying to get a Rural classroom set up for years, so people with disabilities can get farm work experience in a safe and professional way. She said the addition of new facilities will make the experience for clients resemble real farm-to-table businesses.

"That will complete the RURAL program outdoor classroom," Sole said. "That will allow us to take all the vegetables that are grown right there in the garden on-site, take them directly to the kitchen, take them directly to the classroom for a real true farm to table experience."

Ann Burns, director of the Homestead Farm Center, said this planned addition to the outdoor classroom will allow for herself and volunteers on the farm to show DAC clients particular processes, such as cleaning and cooking vegetables.

"What we really need is this kitchen restroom facility," Burns said. "This is the crucial element of the outdoor classroom... When we build this kitchen and restroom building, it will be mostly kitchen and will have a big learning station where they can bring produce in and we can have cooking classes."

Fairmont Mayor Brad Merrifield has a child who is a client of the DAC. Merrifield said the Homestead Farm Center has offered solid programming opportunities over the years and additional funding would only improve the entire program.

"The rural farm program is a well kept secret," Brad Merrifield. "It's something that a lot of the clients at the DAC are able to perform duties that are related to farm life, and get to do duties they would not be exposed to."

Merrifield also said his son participated in activities and learned skills he didn't know were possible, all due to the Homestead Farm Center.

"In my son's case, we got to see skills we didn't know he had that surprised us," Merrifield said. "It's just experiences they and really most other kids wouldn't have a chance to get exposed to. They feed the animals, they have to clean up after some of them, they are able to go fishing, they water the plants and pull weeds and build birdhouses and things like that."

The State Farm Neighborhood Assist program has 200 finalists in the running, and the top 40 vote recipients will each receive a $25,000 grant. Sole said she knows thousands of organizations across the country entered the contest, and she was happy that the DAC and Homestead Farm Center once again made the top 200.

"Now that we were fortunate enough to make it through the review process, our job really turns to raising awareness and getting folks to vote for our cause," Sole said. "We need to be in the top 40, and 40 out of the 200 finalists will win the $25,000."

Burns also said she is pleased with the support the organizations received in 2018, and she believes it will come again because the Homestead Farm Center is so tied in with people of the area.

"I think people appreciate that; they know that every contribution we get is going straight to the Homestead Farm Center," Burns said. "They like to see that their money is really staying right here at home and really making a difference."

Sole said she hopes to see people display the same support for the organizations they showed in 2018, so the Homestead Farm Center can further improve its offerings. She urges community members to vote for the DAC and Homestead Farm Center over the coming weeks, in hopes that people will understand the benefits they offer the area.

"We're really just relying on everybody to just know that they were the vehicle that got us there last time," Sole said. "For 10 days if they will vote, log on, show us support, share the link, share the cause with folks and rally around us, we think we can do it again."

Voting takes place daily from Sept. 23 to Oct. 2, and votes can be made daily online at neighborhoodassist.com/entry/2033778.

Email Eddie Trizzino at etrizzino@timeswv.com and follow him on Twitter at @eddietimeswv.

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