Needs From: Loudoun Cares

Wanted:  Board Member with Focus on Fundraising & Community Networking 

Legacy Farms maintains a working board of directors to provide quarterly review, feedback, and guidance to the organization. In addition, each member takes a leadership role in their field of expertise to ensure that initiatives are fulfilled in between quarterly meetings. 

Legacy Farms is seeking board members with an interest in leading initiatives for effective Fundraising and Community Networking. 

This includes seeking out community leaders interested in supporting Legacy Farms’ mission, developing and maintaining good relationships with contacts, seeking corporate sponsorships, and working with the Executive Director to pursue grant funding. It may also include fundraising event coordination, either online or in person, depending on the Board Member’s availability and areas of interest and enthusiasm. 

Legacy Farms holds board meetings four times a year, usually on a Saturday or Sunday of the following months (unless otherwise scheduled): June, September, December, March. Board meetings last approximately two hours to provide oversight and review of progress, solve organizational challenges, set or revise goals, and hear about subcommittee progress and needs. 

About Legacy Farms: Legacy Farms is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, established in 2012. We offer apprenticeship-style learning and job opportunities in a neurodiverse community of individuals preparing for college, learning a trade, or seeking internships to further their education. 

We are a neurodiverse team of mentors, apprentices, college students, community members and service organization volunteers all working together! Our current garden locations are at Fabbioli Cellars and Temple Hall Regional Park in Leesburg, Virginia. 

What is Neurodiversity? Neurodiversity is a concept where neurological differences are to be recognized and respected as any other human variation. These differences can include those labeled with Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Dyscalculia, Asperger, Autistic Spectrum, Tourette Syndrome, and others. 

How We Fulfill Our Mission Apprentices are hired for eight-week paid contract positions to perform essential tasks in the gardens and on landscaping assignments. Mentors serve as coaches, providing guidance on job skills, teamwork, social awareness, and self-advocacy. Apprentices may also be hired for special projects that develop their talents and benefit the organization’s objectives, including assignments for design, writing, videography for social media, distributor relationship development, event/project coordination, etc. 

We partner with Lightfoot Restaurant, Roots to Rise, Weird Brothers, Simply Be and other local businesses to deliver specialty-cut flowers. And we work closely with selected business partners to develop job placement options. We also partner with The New Ag School, PosAbilities Academy, Embark Center to develop innovative programming and expanded learning opportunities. 

Learn more on our website
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Contact us to discuss the position further: Lyoung@legacyfarmsvirginia.org

Legacy Farms is a small non-profit with an educational garden at Temple Hall Regional Park and Fabbioli Cellars, just outside of Leesburg. Our neurodiverse team of staff, mentors, and apprentices grows and delivers specialty-cut flowers to area businesses and food pantries. This specific role will work with apprentices in the garden on-site to develop work training skills and job experience.

Do you have a background in special education, social work, therapies, OR do you have experience in gardening and a desire to support neurodivergent individuals? Are you available to work outside 7-14 hours per week, coaching up to four neurodivergent apprentices seeking to develop their job skills, self-awareness, and ability to self-advocate in future employment positions?

Growing Together, our mentor/apprentice program, is focused on job skills training, mentoring, and facilitating increased personal development for neurodivergent individuals ages 16+. Our core clientele includes neurodivergent individuals with autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and anxiety – neurotypes that vary from perceived norms and affect an individual’s ability to achieve employment and independence in the current job market.

We hire mentors for a variety of job contracts, structured around a clearly designed 7-step framework. Mentors provide job coaching for neurodivergent individuals to introduce work skills, help develop personal awareness, and address specific challenges each individual has experienced in getting and keeping a job.

This is an opportunity to give back to your community while increasing your skills in working with neurodiverse individuals and enjoying a calm garden environment. You do not need gardening experience! You do need patience, calm communication skills, and understanding of the executive function, self-regulation, and self-awareness challenges and gifts associated with neurodiversity. We prioritize a mindful, relationally based work environment where communication is key to learning and self-development. We welcome challenges and setbacks as learning opportunities. We believe that a balanced, well-regulated nervous system is the first step in increasing executive function, organizational, and emotional regulation on the job.

Key Responsibilities

Work on garden projects with small teams of neurodivergent individuals ages 16+ who are engaged in educational training and paid vocational work as a bridge to independent employmentReview, assess, and prioritize apprentice(s)’ personal goals and skills development quarterly, ensuring clarity on progress plans in daily workCreate supports and materials that move apprentices along a continuum of progress and independence in job skillsAdjust daily tasks to garden demands (as needed) and help apprentices to clarify last-minute adjustments, changes to focus, and ability to meet deliverablesWork alongside apprentices to complete tasks that help maintain Legacy Farms gardensCheck in with assigned apprentice(s) on areas of challenge and strategies for success related to responsibilitiesParticipate in a 4-week online mindfulness 101 course for certification (paid by Legacy Farms)Maintain professional standards of behavior and interaction that embody and set an example of an effective employee, including such qualities as: arriving to work on time and prepared, maintaining a positive attitude, managing personal emotions in regard to challenges, frustrations, etc. and speaking mindfully about personal approach to managing those feelingsAs appropriate to experience, guide other mentors, entrepreneurial apprentices, and mentors-in-training to progress taking on leadership rolesAssist in periodic farmers markets to coach apprentices on products, sales, and social interaction

Other Beneficial Experience

A background in mindfulness practice (not required, training will be provided by Legacy Farms)Enthusiasm for growing flowers and/or entrepreneurial and small business developmentUnderstanding of issues surrounding neurodiversity empowerment

Hours

March to November; 2-3 days per week, 8:30am-12noon (in garden); additional days/hours possible

Location

Garden hours at Temple Hall Farm Regional Park 15855 Limestone School Rd, Leesburg and/or Fabbioli Cellars, 15669 Limestone School Rd, Leesburg, VA 20176