Our Beginning & Some History

Spirit Fire Farm, Inc. was founded by Aislinn Vaughan on May 7, 2009. Her inspiration? It cannot be summed up in a paragraph. It came from many different places. It came from her first cat, Eclipse, a rescued little ragamuffin with an eye infection. It came from Jubie, a fiery little pony with a kind heart who saved Aislinn’s life and taught her how to stand on her own two feet. It came from art, music, and from relationships with caring individuals. It came from personal experience with the issues that Spirit aims to combat. Aislinn wanted to create a safe, positive space where young people would be encouraged to develop their talents, achieve their goals, and grow as individuals. Spirit Fire Farm is that space.

After sitting on a name and a mission for almost a year, the death of Aislinn’s grandmother, Kathleen, a loving, motivated woman, compelled her to move forward with her plans to get SFF off the ground.  She involved Megan McCormick, another young woman with similar experiences and the same ferocious dedication to SFF’s mission. The two of them began to network and expand the organization. They found individuals with experience that would benefit the program and added five members to form Spirit Fire Farm, Inc.’s Board of Directors. On May 7, 2010, SFF’s bylaws were approved by a unanimous vote. Board members, staff, volunteers, and donors have made possible the slow but steady progress of SFF.

On August 29, 2010, SFF had it’s first official fundraising event to raise money for the application fee for the 501(c)3 and related expenses. ‘Chow & Tunes’ was a huge success, drawing almost 150 attendees and bringing in well over Spirit’s goal of $2,000. On June 22, 2011, Spirit received its determination letter from the IRS and is now a tax exempt organization. Spirit thanks all of the bands, sponsors, donors, volunteers, and guests for helping Spirit acheive its goal!

In August of 2011, Spirit Fire Farm partnered with Peace by Piece Farm and Alison Haase to provide equine-related services under the umbrella of Spirit’s Animal Rehabilitation program. Spirit is extremely grateful for the support and assistance that Alison and Peace by Piece have provided. To learn more about Peace by Piece Farm, click here.

In November of 2011, SFF began leasing Rocker Fox Farm (with special thanks to Dr. Stephanie Bennett) in Malvern for Spirit Fire Farm’s exclusive use. Spirit’s equine-staff, Romy (a Thorncroft retiree) and Jubie (our Director’s pony) are teaching the youth in our program about connection, communication, patience, softness in speech and action, and the basics of horsemanship.

Our Name

When Aislinn had the vision of what she wanted to achieve with Spirit Fire Farm, she was stumped when it came to the name. She had a plethora of ideas, but none seemed to fit perfectly. Finally, after a few test runs with various other names, she wrote the mission statement. Then the perfect name materialized when she reread the mission: Spirit Fire Farm. She encouraged friends to vote on the name, putting all of the others on the table. Spirit Fire Farm won nearly unanimously. It encompassed the ultimate goal of the organization: to help youth discover the fire in their spirits. At Spirit, we believe that everyone has a flame within their soul that has the potential to grow into a powerful, raging fire that can melt the troubles of the world. We believe that all it needs to erupt is the oxygen of love and encouragment.

Our Logo

When it was time to choose a logo for Spirit Fire Farm, Aislinn and Megan ran into another barrier. Then, in a particularly passionate conversation about trees as vital, living metaphors for the internal conflicts and struggles of human beings, a mutual agreement was formed regarding the creation of the logo. Inspired by the reflection of the human soul in the life of a tree, Aislinn & Megan came to the conclusion that it was extremely important to incorporate a tree into the logo. Things that may seem, at first, impossible barriers often give us the stength that we need to make it to new heights. The tree symbolizes overcoming obstacles to reach goals, which is very much the nature of a tree: to grow taller despite the weather, to dig its roots down deep to a solid foundation and reach its mighty branches skyward, spreading its awe-inspiring strength for all the world to see. The tree is our symbol of hope.