01 Jul 2016 Children raise vegetables to support home for infants

A new farmer’s market has launched this summer in Casa (Perry County) and the four children under age 10 who created it say their work is all for the children of Soaring Wings Ranch.

The 4 Little Farmers’ Market, made up of a group of young cousins, is growing vegetables and selling them to support Soaring Wings Ranch’s first foster home for infants and toddlers.

“I want to help the children who don’t have families have more food and more stuff like that,” said Madison Bridgeman, 9.

On a hot day in June, the Young and Bridgeman children met with Soaring Wings Ranch to show off their garden and tell why they choose to grow and sell their vegetables. They worked together, holding baskets for each other and offering to help with challenging tasks.

The children began raising funds for charity three summers ago, holding yard sales to support Arkansas Children’s Hospital and later deciding to support Soaring Wings Ranch.

Amanda Young, mother of two of the four children, said the family has a close connection to the ranch. The Whittany Rae Atkinson Home for Girls is named in memory of Young’s niece, who passed away in 2011 after a tragic four-wheeler accident.

“Our family decided we wanted to do something in her honor,” Young said. “Whittany was a proponent of adoption, begged her parents repeatedly to adopt, so Soaring Wings was a perfect fit.”

The family raised money to build the Atkinson home in 2012, which has since been home to more than 25 girls in foster care. When they learned of plans for the new Strain Home for Infants and Toddlers, the children decided to plant extra vegetables at the family farm and sell them at the local farmer’s market, donating the proceeds to the Strain Home.

Eight-year-old Ava Young said she has been growing vegetables for three years. All the children say that the work is not easy, but they enjoy doing it for the children at Soaring Wings Ranch.

“We have to water [the vegetables], and hoe them and pull weeds,” said Madison. Her brother, 7-year-old Mason Bridgeman, added that they also have to pick the vegetables. He said he enjoys working with his cousins and his favorite job is hoeing.

Vegetables grown by the Young and Bridgeman children are available 7 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Perryville Farmer’s Market and 4-7 p.m. Tuesday at Bridgeman Farms, 2344 Hwy. 10 West in Casa.

Soaring Wings Christian Home and Ranch (SWR) is a faith-based nonprofit organization providing Christ-centered, long-term foster care for children who have been abused, neglected, orphaned or are otherwise in need of a chance to soar. Grounded in the promises set forth in Isaiah 40:31, SWR’s mission is to provide children with a nurturing, loving family and home for as long as the children need them. For more information, visit swranch.org.