by Renee Gannon | January 2006

• Introduction
• Somewhere to Belong
• Aunt Marilyn's Farm Begins
• 6 Spokes of the HarvestWorks' Wheel
• Both Smiles and Opportunities
• Download this article as a

Aunt Marilyn’s Farm begins

Inspired by Mangum’s late sister, Marilyn, the group went to work building a place for their kids and others. “Marilyn was the first person to convince my wife and me that having a child with a disability is not the end of the world,” says Mangum.

When your child is diagnosed with a developmental disability, you feel as if all your hopes and dreams for you and your family have been trashed. But we all have someone in our lives who puts things in perspective and reminds us that we must be the strongest advocate for our kids because no one else will. Marilyn was that person for Travis Mangum.

Mangum has a theory: “I think there are four stages to a tragedy. When you first hear something is wrong, you feel pity for yourself, it’s the end of the world, life is over as we know it. Step two is the search for a second opinion, not quite accepting what’s been handed to you. Step three is acceptance and knowing you can deal with it. Step four is making something positive out of the negative. That’s where HarvestWorks comes from.”

A $50,000 Dover Foundation grant helped the wheel start turning. In May 2003, HarvestWorks purchased 18 acres off Highway 180 in Shelby that also included an old farmhouse. The Mangum family purchased and donated an adjacent two-acre lot that fronts the highway. And with the help of Marvin Hutchison, the area’s USDA Rural Development Center representative, the center earned a $700,000 long-term, low-interest USDA loan. Other grants helped add to what HarvestWorks could offer the community.

The center became licensed to provide community-based services (CBS) and community alternative programs (CAP) through Pathways, the local mental health agency that also assists HarvestWorks with Medicaid billing. It serves five counties: Cleveland, Lincoln, Gaston, Rutherford and Polk.