Four members of the California Agricultural Leadership Program, a two-year fellowship affiliated with Cal Poly-SLO, recently donated $2,000 to Growing Grounds Farm in Santa Maria.
Lisa Bodrogi, Cara Crye, Ivor VanWingerden, and Erin Huston participated in service projects in Washington, D.C., and South America. In Peru, they fundraised and repaired 30 homes damaged in an earthquake. The funds left over from their project were split up by region to be distributed.
The group’s donation will help to pay for client wages and staff at Growing Grounds Farm, which relies solely on sales and community support. The farm is a small business and employment program, providing therapy, training, and employment to more than 40 people with severe mental illnesses.
For more information, call 540-6594.
This article appears in Oct 21-28, 2010.