Providing a productive, progressive alternative for adults with disabilities
Innisfree Village proudly celebrates 45 years of offering a home to adults with intellectual disabilities and the full-time, volunteer houseparents who have lived with them in the spirit of “lifesharing” since 1971. In Innisfree’s lifesharing environment, its residents and the individuals who care for them share their workweeks and their home lives as families do.
Innisfree is a fully licensed, not-for-profit, non-sectarian, 550-acre community located in the foothills of Central Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
Innisfree provides a home for approximately 40 residents, called coworkers, in 10 residential houses in its rural Village outside Crozet, Virginia, and in two residential houses in Charlottesville. Innisfree also has a program for “day coworkers,” who spend workdays at Innisfree and return to their families’ homes when the workday is finished.
Innisfree is known throughout Central Virginia for its handicrafts, granola, farm products, and organic vegetables, made by coworkers in onsite therapeutic workstations, including a weavery, woodshop, bakery, farm, vegetable garden, herb and flower garden, community kitchen, art studio, and pottery studio. These distinctive items are sold at local craft fairs, select retail stores and restaurants, and farmers’ markets.
Among the items available for sale are:
WEAVERY. . . . . Placemats, scarves, tote bags, and blankets
WOODSHOP. . . Cutting boards, cooling racks, side tables, and kitchen utensils
BAKERY. . . . . . Granola
FARM. . . . . . . . Eggs and handspun yarn from free-range hens and sheep
GARDENS. . . . . Vegetables, herbs, flowers, handmade soaps, and herbal teas
ART STUDIO. . . Hand-printed notecards, aprons, pillows, and pouches
POTTERY. . . . . Trays, plates, bowls, and vases
These items highlight Innisfree’s focus on the empowering concept of “abilities” rather than the stereotyping concept of “disabilities,” enabling Innisfree to recognize and honor the unique personhood of each of its coworkers.
Innisfree will host a free Open House on Saturday, December 3, 2016, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM at which the above items will be for sale. The Open House will also feature a $40 wreath-making workshop, children’s activities, tours of Innisfree, and refreshments. For more information or to register for the wreath-making workshop, call or email Trisha Costello at 434-823-5400 or trisha@innisfreevillage.org.
For more information about Innisfree’s programs and services, call or email Executive Director Rorie Hutter at 434-823-5400 or villagedirector@innisfreevillage.org.
