*Goodwill* Hearty Roots Outdoor Campus Stewardship VISTA

Hearty Roots was founded in 2017 by Haley Bezon, a guidance counselor who saw how mental health support for youth wasn¿t meeting kids where they were. A deep believer in the power of the natural world to provide the perfect backdrop for mindful social-emotional skill-building and restoration, Haley began to develop programming to serve the kids of Lincoln County, Maine, including summer camps and year-round in-school and afterschool one-on-one counseling by licensed therapists. In 2025 alone, Hearty Roots served more than 600 kids and offered no-questions-asked scholarship support to over 50% of their families. Maine has the highest rate of youth mental health with 1 in 4 having at least one mental health diagnosis, so the need is great and Hearty Roots is rising to the challenge of caring for Lincoln County¿s kids.

Our 115-acre Campus for Mindful Adventure comprises 110 acres of pristine wilderness: ancient Hemlocks, dramatic erratics, streams and a huge beaver pond; five acres across the road has extensive frontage on beautiful Biscay Pond and features an open-air pavilion and dock. 2026 will see the ongoing development of the campus on the ¿wood side¿, including a gear barn, some rustic cabins and tent platforms. Trail-building and maintenance are ongoing, and we hope to install some ADA trails to accommodate our Sunbeam campers (kids with neurological or physiological differences).