Verdant Valor Sanctuary

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it is one of the most important months on the VVS calendar.

This month we are sharing more about the intersection of mental health, horticultural therapy, veteran wellness, and the IDD community. There is a lot to talk about, and we are ready to go deep.

Follow along and share what resonates with you!

Many Veterans describe the absence of mission as one of the hardest parts of returning home.

The military provides structure, identity, and belonging. Civilian life does not always offer those things automatically, and the gap can be devastating. We are building VVS around the idea that meaningful work in a purposeful community can help fill that gap.

Veterans deserve a mission beyond service. We want to help them find it.

Happy Earth Day! 🌱

At Verdant Valor Sanctuary, we believe that caring for the land and caring for people are the same act. It is therapeutic. It is grounding. It is dignified work that produces real results.

Today we celebrate the land that makes this work possible.

Building a nonprofit from the ground up means making decisions before anyone is watching, before the funding is secured, before the program is running. It means staying rooted in the why when the how feels uncertain.

At VVS, our why is the communities we are building this for. Every step, every plan, every partnership we pursue is in service of that.

We are building with intention and we are grateful you are following along.

Did you know that horticultural therapy has roots going back to the 18th century?

Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was among the first to document the therapeutic benefits of garden work for people with mental illness.

The practice has evolved significantly since then, but the core truth has remained: growing things helps people heal.

We are proud to be building on that legacy at VVS.

We know that all of the best things grow together! ✨ This , we’re celebrating the "points of light" who transform local plots into thriving community hubs.

By dedicating over 17,000 hours to community gardening initiatives in 2025, our volunteers are doing more than just growing vegetables. They’re nourishing neighborhoods, helping people to grow their own food and building more resilient communities!

Last year, we engaged 8,300+ North Carolinians through community gardening. These vibrant spaces serve as living classrooms that:

🥕 Showcase vegetable, culinary herb and fruit varieties that thrive in NC
🌺 Protect our local ecosystem with native and pollinator-friendly plants
🌾 Create inclusive environments where neighbors can connect, learn and harvest together

When we garden as a community, we light the way for a more sustainable and connected .

Contact your local N.C. Cooperative Extension Center to learn about community gardens near you ➡️ ces.ncsu.edu/local-county-center

Find FREE community gardening resources here ➡️ nccommunitygardens.ces.ncsu.edu

📸 credit: Lalitree Darnielle, EMG volunteer of Durham County - the 2025 tomato trial at Briggs Ave Community Garden

Post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, moral injury, and the invisible weight of service affect hundreds of thousands of Veterans across the country.

In North Carolina alone, there are over 700,000 Veterans, yet community-based, nature-centered programs built specifically around their needs remain rare.

VVS is being developed to change that.
This is a gap we intend to help close.

Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities include a wide range of conditions such as autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and intellectual disability.

About 1 in 6 children in the United States has a developmental disability, and many of those children grow into adults who still need structured support.

Understanding IDD is the first step toward building communities that truly include everyone. We are here to help build that understanding.