Jo's Farm
In April 2020, Johanna and I headed out to the garden that Jo’s Dad designed with easy access for Jo’s special needs.
The pandemic and shut-downs were in full force and many families like ours were struggling on how to best care for their immunocompromised loved ones at home with little to no support.
It was in that garden that we decided to start raising chickens as a way to keep Jo busy collecting eggs and caring for the chickens. When the hens began producing enough eggs to sell to neighbors and friends, Eggcellent Eggs by Jo’s Chicks was born!
Jo’s Farm Stand started in the yard and on social media as a way to connect with the local community in the midst of the pandemic.
In 2021, we added goats to Jo’s Farm because as Jo said; “My farm is not a farm without goats.” Jo was definitely right about that! Sara Lee and Holly Goat are an essential part of Jo’s Farm and they add a lot of humor too!
Shortly after the goats arrived, we opened Jo’s Farm to other young adults with disabilities as a way to help others develop community and explore nature and arts on Jo’s Farm.
Today, Jo’s Farm has become much more than one family’s way to keep busy during the pandemic.
Jo’s Farm is a welcoming place for young adults with disabilities, their families and others to foster community, create art and connect to nature in a rural setting. We now offer programs twice a month and for special events.
Eileen Benthal, Founder
Eileen is the Founder and Director of Johanna’s Hope.
Eileen is a freelance writer, speaker, and the author of the book, “Breathing Underwater; a Caregiver’s Journey of Hope”. Eileen speaks at conferences and events to share the lessons she has learned about finding hope amid ongoing trials. She writes a monthly column for RiverheadLocal.com entitled “Life on Purpose”; which often highlights the joys and triumphs of “perpetual motherhood” and advocacy for people with disabilities.
Eileen is a fierce advocate for respecting the dignity and rights of all people, most especially those with disabilities. She has a heart for the families like their own who are raising and caring for children and adults with cognitive and developmental disabilities and understands those special needs.
Eileen coordinates and runs the bi-monthly “Arts on Jo’s Farm” program, which is supported through donations to Johanna’s Hope. In addition to the projects they do together, Johanna’s Hope programs help build community and networks for participants, caregivers, and their families.
Eileen is a wife and mother of four young adults, the youngest of whom is a woman with disabilities and a rare disease, Johanna, who is Eileen’s inspiration and the true founder of Johanna’s Hope.
Sara Phillips, Board Member
Sara Phillips spent nearly 20 years working as a fundraiser for arts and education non-profit organizations including The New York Public Library, The Juilliard School and NYU School of Social Work.
A Master Gardener, she is passionate about organic gardening, no till farming, utilizing native plants and supporting pollinators. She is also a trained singer and was a 15 year member of Essential Voices USA, a choral group in residence with The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. Sara and her husband fell in love with The North Fork after a visit to celebrate their first wedding anniversary in 2007. They and their two sons live in Cutchogue on their own mini farm complete with goats, chickens and bees.
Sara also serves as a Board member for Hallockville Museum Farm where she coordinates the Educational Bee Yard. We are all so grateful to have met Sara at the Bee Yard.
Sara worked with our Johanna’s Hope participants to partner together to paint pallets that provide that fencing around the Bee Yard at Hallockville.
Jen Smith, Board Member
Jen is another strong woman of determination and prayer. We first met Jen in 2007 at a gathering of entrepreneurs in her home on the South Fork of Long Island. What most attracted us to Jen was her unique combination of entrepreneurial skill and the art of connection. She is a savy business woman with a very big heart! We have worked professionally with Jen for almost 20 years and learned so much from her focus and zeal. But what we most appreciate about Jen is her friendship and her authentic and generous heart. Jen has also stepped in to work with Jo to play endless games of YAHTZEE!!!! Jen has been instrumental in getting Johanna’s Hope off the ground by pushing me and Steve to keep going towards building this non-profit. We are grateful for her patience and her zeal!
Stacy Soloviev, Board Member
Stacey is a force of nature and wind of change to make the world- especially the North Fork- a better place! She is a local entrepreneur and business owner of some of the North Fork’s most popular spots including Santa’s Christmas Tree Farm in Cutchogue, Peconic Bay Winery, and the Chequit on Shelter Island.
Stacey is a very busy mother (of ten kids!) and an entrepreneur.
But when you are with her, the world stops so she can listen to your heart. Our conversations always come back to making the natural world more accessible to children and adults with special needs.
When Stacey came to visit Jo’s Farm she asked Jo if she wanted to raise bees. I thought she was crazy! When Stacey sent us some links and offered to purchase Jo a beautiful Flow Hive, which makes the world of bees more accessible to all, we were all in!
Jo’s Farm is now busier and buzzing in part because of Stacey’s gift.
I especially appreciate Stacey’s quiet encouragement and wisdom as she gently nudges me to keep us moving to build Johanna’s Hope.
Marianna Garcia, Treasurer
Marianna Garcia is our Treasurer and a regular visitor to Jo’s Farm! She is a professional educator, a financial entrepreneur in local small businesses, and an advocate for individuals, families, and children- especially those whose lives have been impacted by the chaos of addiction.
Marianna is a single mom to a beautiful 7-year-old daughter who was also recently diagnosed with a serious rare disease. Her daughter is a farmhand for Jo’s Farm who helps collect eggs and feed the goats!
Through all these challenges, Marianna has grown deeper in her faith and the wisdom of life experience which she readily offers to others.
Her non-profit experience also includes coordinating the treasury for the Suffolk County Chapter of Magnificat Ministry to Catholic Women and the entire Northeast region of the United States.
Shelby Coleman, Board Member
Shelby Coleman is a wonderful friend of Jo’s Farm as well as a creative entrepreneur with a long history of living on Long Island’s East End and in Manhattan.
Her late husband, Cy Coleman was a prolific American composer and songwriter whose music still plays on Broadway to this day.
In addition to many other endeavors, Shelby and her daughter Lily run Sunny Shore Farms- the only certified Nigerian Dwarf Goat Farm on Long Island. Their farm is a little piece of heaven on earth and they are just 3 doors down from our house!
Johanna’s Hope groups are regular visitors to their farm- especially in the spring when we go to hold baby goats!
Two of our goats, Jack and Billy, were born on their farm and joined our herd last fall.
Shelby is an amazing entrepreneur who offers great business advice and encourages us to move Jo’s Farm and Johanna’s Hope forward to achieve our potential to do more good in this crazy world.
Madonna Registrato, Board Member
Madonna is affectionately known as Jo’s Fairy Godmother!
We met Madonna and her husband Joe in 1999 when we were preparing for a large gathering of Christians at Nassau Coliseum- Jesus Alive 2000! Steve Benthal recruited them to lead our 500 people choir for the 8k believers who gathered on that magical evening.
We quickly became friends and spent a lot of time together laughing!
Madonna works professionally as a teaching assistant for students with special needs and is a gifted artist as well as a musician and vocalist.
She also works with Jo as one of her community hab aides. We LOVE summertime because Madonna comes here 2 days a week!
Madonna makes Johanna laugh!
She has also been a very helpful support and creative force behind the development of the “Arts on Jo’s Farm” program at Johanna’s Hope.
Spandita Sarmah, Artist/Designer
This year, we introduced a “tactile art” series with the help of our “artist in residence”- Spandita Sarmah. Spandita is a recent graduate of NYU’s M.S. Integrated Design & Media. Spandita’s thesis was on making art more accessible to people with visual impairments and intellectual disabilities.
In addition to volunteering her website and design expertise for Johanna’s Hope (she created our logos!), she has been instructing all of us on creating art that can appeal to all the senses. We use stuff from Jo’s Farm (like eggshells and feathers!) and other mediums to add dimension to our paintings. One of our participants remarked “But we aren’t allowed to touch art.” Exactly. We are creating art everyone can touch and feel and experience with all our senses.
Spandita firmly believes that a person’s physical or mental capacities should not determine their access to art and technology. Therefore, She develops enterprise solutions that will be equally available to everyone.
SpanditaSarmah.com
The Flock: 16 chickens led by Goldie the Rooster and Speckles his lead hen!
The Herd at “Fort Goat”:
Jack-Jack, & Billy the Kid, & Sheriff Holly.
Jo’s Bee Garden:
Thanks to the generosity of Board member, Stacy Soloviev and Master Bee Keeper, Chris Kelly of Promised Land Apiaries, we added Jo’s bee garden in spring 2022.
Chris Kelly has been a beekeeper for 50 years and is a regular volunteer with Johanna’s Hope. He is passionate about educating others on environmental sustainability practices, beekeeping and caring for the natural world. Chris is an essential part of the vision of Johanna’s Hope making nature accessible to all-as he leads the education and hands-on care for the bees at Jo’s Farm. The bee garden is another way to provide access and hands-on learning experiences for all to interact with the natural world.
The Farm Manager – Imani: Imani was a change of career dog who was raised to be a service dog but decided she wanted to come back to Jo’s Farm instead! Today, she is responsible for the Farm, alerting us to any predators, and for providing endless entertainment and golden smiles to Jo’s guests.