RootRise isn't a classroom. It's a working farm where youth build real skills through real work. Our 4-level program turns the most vulnerable moment of their lives into the foundation for everything that comes next.
The first weeks are about stabilization. Youth arriving from the foster system need safety, routine, and trust before anything else. Seedlings settle into farm life, learn daily rhythms, and begin the basics.
Sprouts take ownership. They manage their own greenhouse section, start building employment skills, and work toward educational goals. This is where responsibility becomes real—and rewarding.
Harvest-level residents become leaders on the farm. They sell produce at farmers markets, mentor newer youth, and begin exploring career and education pathways that will carry them beyond RootRise.
Root-level residents are ready to leave—with a real foundation beneath them. They have housing lined up, employment or education secured, savings in the bank, and a network that doesn't disappear when they walk out the door.
Every dollar invested in RootRise keeps a young person off the street, out of jail, and on a path to productive independence. Here's what we're building toward.
Graduates leave with a lease, a landlord reference, and the skills to keep a home. No one walks out into nothing.
Every Root-level graduate is either working full-time or enrolled in higher education before they leave the program.
The alumni network means graduates always have people in their corner. Mentors, peers, and staff who know them by name.
Whether you can donate, partner, or refer a young person who needs a place like this—we want to hear from you.
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