Grow Sanctuary at Acta Non Verba

A place to breathe.

For more than 16 years, Acta Non Verba: Youth Urban Farm Project has given Oakland youth somewhere to set the weight down. One Camp ANV mom wrote to us during a stretch of housing trouble. Camp, she said, "really helped my son take the stress away." Another family told us their son joined them through fostering and adoption, and that it takes him a little extra time to feel safe in new places. At Camp ANV, the staff "gained his trust quickly and made him feel safe and welcome."

That is what a sanctuary does. At a time when costs are rising and many families are carrying worry and uncertainty, it gives a child room to just be a kid.

A place to belong.

This year, 168 young people made Camp ANV theirs: 140 kids ages 4 to 11, 12 Junior Counselors and 16 Camp Counselors. One mother told us her daughter "eagerly counts down the days until camp begins." She learned to swim, discovered a love for dance, and made friends and memories along the way. Another parent, thinking about the field trips and weekly swims, wrote: "I never was able to have this, so it brings so much joy to my heart that my children get to have these experiences."

Belonging reaches past camp, too. When SNAP/EBT benefits were disrupted last winter, our farms put about 6,220 pounds of free produce into the hands of more than 450 households in just ten weeks. Every week, about 60 households pick up a CSA share, and the number of discounted shares for neighbors paying with EBT/SNAP has more than doubled this year. A visiting group of Oakland families told us their children saw something rare at ANV: women and people of color leading urban farming, and a way to take pride in caring for the land and one another.

A place to grow.

In July, four teens from our No Limit Leadership Program traveled to a youth summit in North Carolina. They visited a refugee-led farm, shared meals, got their hands dirty in service, and talked about sustainability and environmental justice. Our program manager called it "one of the most grounding and beautiful moments of the whole trip." Closer to home, a kindergarten and first-grade class lit up on a farm visit, planted their own seeds, and came back to school asking to do more gardening.

One parent whose daughter has been coming for over five years put it this way: "I wish every child had the same opportunity."

This season of giving, you can help make that true for more children. Hope and connection are not naive. They are choices, and your gift is how a child gets to put their hands in the soil, share a meal with friends, and feel safe in the care of adults who show up. Help us grow sanctuary through 2027 and beyond.