photo used courtesy of Bear Barton Vineyards
(CASHMERE, WA) Lauren Barton has always had a heart for helping. She recalls being a college-aged volunteer at a ranch for troubled boys.
“They had the highest rate of success of taking these boys and getting them to lead wonderful lives,” Barton tells Northwest Newsradio.
She admired the work done by the staff, but one night, overheard a conversation that changed everything.
“Listening to them (the staff members) talk about struggling with the boy, and how it was a very taxing job,” Lauren recalls. “No one was really supporting them.”
It sparked an idea that she would hold on to through her real estate career, and now as a vineyard owner. Lauren and her husband Greg are finally in a place to be able to offer a break to those who spend their careers helping others.
“I think anyone who’s done care giving now, we have more of a tangible sense of that globally. What it takes, you know, you give care.”
The program is called “Restore the Restorers,” and its headquartered on 42 acres overlooking the Cashmere Valley. The first cabin is available, and on any given day, a first responder, a therapist, or someone who helps another through trauma is offered the chance to stay without charge…in order to recharge.
It’s also a place where non-profits are encouraged to send their most prized volunteers.
“If the person burns out and leaves the non-profit, all that energy, time, experience…is lost,” says Greg Barton.
The Bartons use profits from their Bear Barton Vineyards and donations to make this opportunity possible, and hope over the years to add more cabins…so they can help restore even more restorers. To find out more about the fairly new program, you can contact the Bartons through their vineyard’s website.
