It started with our annual GiveLocalNRV fundraising campaign with our community sharing their Springhouse stories. We closed out the campaign with over 500 donors helping us go beyond our $120,000 goal! We hand-printed a thank-you card for everyone in our print shop.
From there, the season continued with weekly community work days and potlucks. We added cover crops to the garden and did some creative rearranging in our building. A group of us walked the Appalachian Trail in preparation for a week-long pilgrimage in Ireland’s coastal mountains where a group of nine adults connected deeply to the Irish landscape and each other. We also tended what we’ve already built: creating a letterpress font library for our print shop, and pulling The Wanderer, the 22-foot sailboat this community built six years ago, out of the barn.
In early August, we baked bread in a new clay oven for Lammas, our first-harvest celebration, using flour, starter, and vegetables from neighbors in our community. We also gathered our trustees and staff for reflection, opening with a shared meal and Floyd’s Small Town Summer concert, then turning inward with writing games and conversation about governance, before inviting the broader community in for a Saturday reflection of the season together.
Our Summer concluded with the Staff rowing The Wanderer out onto Claytor Lake, six years after she was first built. That same week, we welcomed families back to campus for orientation and prepared to kick-off a new learning year.
We are grateful to all those who have been a part of this summer, contributing through our Community Work Days, giving financially, and helping us carry that spirit of generosity and support into the season ahead.
As autumn begins, we invite you to join our Autumn Seasonal Meditations, a space to gather in community as the season turns. You can learn more join us here.
With deep gratitude,
The Springhouse Community
