Let the construction begin!!

Spring has finally arrived and with it the first construction day for the Kelly House Project!

Saturday, June 11 starting at 8 am, a crew will be working to complete the floor of the new addition atop the foundation walls. The funds for this part of the project were raised over the winter months. Additional donations will be needed for the next step of adding the walls and roof.

Donations may be sent to:

The Kelly House Project

c/o Agape Hill Farm

618 Houston Hill Road

Hardwick, VT 05843

We'll post pictures of the completed work after 6/11!

Winter Update for the Kelly House Project

Thank you to the many people who have already donated to the Kelly House Project. We are in the process of setting up the donation account at Union Bank (donation checks will be cashed and deposited as soon as the paperwork is complete for the account). Donations cans have been put out at area businesses. A Dinner Dance is being planned for February.

Construction is scheduled to begin as soon as possible this coming Spring. We are maintaining a list of volunteer carpenters and are looking for a crew chief to oversee the daily work.

Christmas at the Frost household was merry indeed. Kelly and her daughter greatly appreciate the warm wishes and gifts received and celebrated in their tiny home with dreams of Christmas next year in the new addition!

KELLY HOUSE UPDATE:

The materials list is on hand at Poulin Lumber and donations may be made there directly. You can donate lumber, a window, nails etc.! Cash donations have started to come in and we are excited to get started with the building.

There is a need for a crew chief! This person would oversee the construction--line up work for the volunteer builders and keep things flowing smoothly. Anyone who is interested should contact Nancy Kish or Tom Younkman (numbers below).

Project: Kelly's House

Update

Plans are almost complete and a materials list will be ready some time next week. The project is ready to accept donations and volunteer builders. Here's how you can help:

To Donate to the Project:

Option 1:

Make a donation for materials directly at Poulin Lumber in Hardwick. Just let them know you want to donate to the Kelly Frost Project and they will provide you with a list of items still needed. You may pay for all or part of any item on the list.

Option 2:

To make a donation, please make checks payable to The Kelly House Project and send to:

Nancy Kish

Attention: The Kelly House Project

618 Houston Hill Road

Hardwick,VT 05843

For more information or to volunteer to work on the Project:

Contact Tom Younkman (Project contact and AgrAbility Specialist) at 802-229-6419 or Nancy Kish (Local Contact) at 802-472-3711.

Agape Hill Farm is privileged to be part of a community-based effort to help a local farm family. We have volunteered our blogspot and other venues of communication to help get the word out about this worthwhile project:

Barn Builders, a local peer support group for farmers with disabilities, is working thru Vermont AgrAbility Project, The Vermont Center for Independent Living and the Northeast Kingdom Community Action Agency, Inc. (KEKCA) to help a local woman and her daughter realize a dream. (See story below) Barn Builders is looking to the community for help to complete a modest addition for Kelly and her daughter. The foundation has already been poured and a local architect Gregory Paus of Silver Ridge Design Inc in Hyde Park has volunteered to design the construction plans which will include a second bedroom, kitchen and workspace. Larry Hamel of Cornerstone Restoration Corporation is helping to oversee and coordinate construction. With donations for materials and volunteer builders, it is hoped the family will be able to enjoy the living space this winter. This will be a life changing gift to Kelly and her daughter and one that will allow them to pursue their desire to live independently. For questions contact Tom Younkman (Project contact and AgrAbility Specialist) at 802-229-6419 to donate or volunteer, please contact Nancy Kish (Local Contact) at 802-472-3711.

Kelly's Story

Kelly with her Icelandic Ram, Harley

Kelly Frost moved to Hardwick to live a simple life on a small homestead. She and her young daughter were starting a fiber farm (sheep, goats, rabbits, etc.) and making plans to enlarge the small camp in which they were living when, in 2007, everything came to a screeching halt. Kelly was involved in a serious car accident and suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). TBI is a challenging disability because people often appear no different than they did before their accident. The effects are not readily visible, but are very real and include memory loss, concentration and attention problems and communication and language issues. This has left Kelly unable to return to her job and for a time brought work at the farm to a standstill. Now that her condition has stabilized and with the help of the groups listed above, Kelly is developing a business plan though (NEKCA) to make the fiber farm reality. She has taken many steps forward, but one challenge overshadows all future plans. Kelly and her daughter have been living in a one room camp with a small bathroom and no kitchen.

There is no room for basic appliances such as a refrigerator and stove, no private space and no room for Kelly to work on the fiber art projects that could provide a sustainable living for her and her daughter. This seems like a very sad ending to one woman's dream, but we are confident that the amazing community in which we live will NOT let the story end here!!

May Mayhem

May is a busy month here at Agape Hill Farm. We finished up our two spring workshops and are getting ready to begin a special short-term workshop to prepare for the first annual AHF Llama Show to be held on June 25th.

We are also busy welcoming school classes for spring field trips, visiting area nursing homes and gearing up for the big Hardwick Spring Festival. The festival is held on the Saturday before Memorial Day (May 29th this year) and starts off with a parade through town. Our llamas will be part of the parade and then will spend the afternoon at Atkins Field (on Granite Street off Rt. 15) where they will be working at leading kids through the obstacle course. (Shhh...don't tell! The kids think THEY are leading the llamas!)

We are looking forward to some great adventures for everyone!!!