Recently, we asked one of our long-time volunteers, Jennifer Ladd, questions about her volunteering journey.

Q. How did you learn about Wellspring?

I’ve known Fred and Emily before Wellspring started, not sure exactly when I heard about it from them sometime in 2015 or 2016 I think .

Q.What got you interested in volunteering with Wellspring?

I agree with Wellspring’s goal of growing resilient, vibrant, creative community which of course includes cooperative, collaborative, co-owned economic systems. I wanted to be part of that, especially as the larger world becomes more unstable and unpredictable.

Q.What projects have you been working on with Wellspring?

Since I live in the northern part of the Valley and my work has been in philanthropy and fundraising, I mostly volunteered on the Development Committee to find other like-minded people who also had financial resources to help support Wellspring and what it stands for.

Q.What work with Wellspring excites you most?

Wellspring’s ties with community members is what most excites me. I believe that new collaborative structures will be more flexible and sustainable if the community is integral to their creation and continuation. Wellspring Harvest is planted in Indian Orchard- growing food hydroponically was a creative solution to being surrounded by toxic soil. I love the Go Fresh Mobile market and appreciate all the work that goes into making that effective. Wellspring’s boot camps teaching people about how to do a worker cooperative are routinely offered, helping people conceive of and create different ways of doing independent businesses that are democratically run. I think the work on land trusts and housing is very promising. I have yet to visit Gran Cocina and look forward to it.

Q.What skills and background are you draw on in your volunteer work with Wellspring?

Besides my work with the Development Committee I am happy to help out at different events if my schedule allows.

We thank all of our volunteers for their help with programs, projects and events that support the mission of Wellspring cooperative. We are always looking for volunteers with a variety of interests and skills to support our events, co-ops, and more. Fill out this form and we’ll contact you when we need help with an event or project.