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For decades, Children’s Defense Fund’s (CDF) Alex Haley Farm has been a home. A place of renewal, learning, and action for children, young leaders, advocates, and policymakers. Here, movements are nurtured, and change takes root. 

Spread across 157 acres once owned by Roots author Alex Haley, this sacred space honors the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement while equipping today’s changemakers with the tools to build a more just America. 

CDF Founder and President Emerita Marian Wright Edelman envisioned Haley Farm as “a place where we can exercise the behaviors that we would like to live out in the world and in the community.” Today, Haley Farm remains central to our vision. A training ground for leaders and advocates, fostering spiritual renewal, intergenerational learning, and transformative action. 

Now, we’re expanding Haley Farm to ensure it continues to serve as the beating heart of the movement for child well-being. Roots Village at CDF Haley Farm will provide the space and resources needed to train, mobilize, and inspire the next generation of changemakers. 

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To meet the growing demand for training and advocacy, we must renovate and expand our facilities. With your support, we will: 

• Expand lodging capacity from 36 to 150 overnight guests 
• Build a 400-person assembly hall for convenings and trainings 
• Create a Narrative & Leadership Development Center (housing the CDF Archives, Data Center, and classrooms) 
• Construct a commercial kitchen to serve guests and programs 
• Improve restroom facilities and accessibility 
• Enhance the outdoor amphitheater, recreational spaces, and walking trails 

This investment will allow more people to engage deeply, position Haley Farm as a premier retreat and training center and solidify its role as the home for the child well-being movement. 

Haley Farm is more than a place. It’s a promise. A promise to equip leaders and young voices and ensure that all children and youth have the opportunity to thrive.

Be a part of this transformation. Donate today and help build the village our young people deserve.

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