The Power of Showing Up
At Thistle Farms, volunteers are not an “extra” to the work we do—they are woven into the fabric of it. They are part of what makes this community strong, what makes our spaces feel warm, and what makes it possible for us to do the work of healing, restoration, and belonging.
A Letter from CEO, Tasha Kennard
There is a quiet kind of power that often goes unseen.
It doesn’t always come with recognition or applause. It doesn’t always make headlines or appear in reports. But it is deeply felt in every corner of our community.
It is the power of a volunteer.
At Thistle Farms, volunteers are not an “extra” to the work we do—they are woven into the fabric of it. They are part of what makes this community strong, what makes our spaces feel warm, and what makes it possible for us to do the work of healing, restoration, and belonging.
During Volunteer Appreciation Month, we pause to honor that gift.
When someone chooses to give their time, their energy, and their presence, they are making a powerful statement: that people matter, that community matters, and that showing up for one another is worth it.
At Thistle Farms, showing up takes many forms. It looks like helping serve meals and creating a sense of radical hospitality for the women in our residential program and for our café guests. It looks like serving alongside us in our justice enterprises—supporting production, retail, and logistics so that women have meaningful work and training. It looks like organizing, mentoring, cleaning, teaching, listening—whatever is needed in the moment.
But more than anything, it looks like presence, and there is power in presence in our community.
Many residents arrive having experienced profound disconnection—people who left, systems that failed them, relationships that broke trust. And then, volunteers walk in and people who don’t have to be there chose to be anyway.
That choice is powerful.
It begins to rebuild something that was once taken: the belief that people can be trusted and that community can be safe, that connection is possible.
Volunteers help create that space.
They help us build an environment where women can begin to heal, where they can feel seen, and where they can start to imagine something different for their lives.
And while they are giving, they are also receiving.
I hear it often—from volunteers who come in thinking they are coming to serve, and leave realizing they have been changed. They talk about the relationships they’ve built, the stories they’ve heard, the perspective they’ve gained and being connected to something bigger than themselves.
That is the beauty of this work, it moves both ways.
At Thistle Farms, we believe in the power of community—the idea that none of us are meant to do this alone. Volunteers are a living example of that belief in action. They remind us that healing doesn’t happen in isolation, and that when people come together with open hearts, something powerful happens.
So, this month, we say thank you.
Thank you for the early mornings and the long days.
Thank you for the quiet moments of service that no one sees.
Thank you for the conversations, the laughter, the kindness, and the consistency.
Thank you for choosing to show up.
Your presence matters more than you know.
And the impact you make—on our community, on the women we serve, and on the work we do together—lasts far beyond the time you spend with us.
Thank you.
