Freedom’s Purchase Ranch: Building Hope, Community & A Path Off the Streets. Help Us Launch!
We’re creating sustainable solutions to end homelessness, for everyone. But our family’s crucial first step to build this future needs YOUR urgent help today.
URGENT: Support Our GoFundMe for Critical Repairs, Relocation & Sustenance!
Our Foundation Needs Fixing Before We Can Build Theirs: See Why We Need Your Help NOW.
We’re Mike and Abbe Baird, founders of Freedom’s Purchase Ranch. Our life’s mission is to build self-sufficient, eco-friendly communities that offer dignity and a real future for individuals and families facing homelessness, including our deeply valued veterans.
But right now, our own family’s mobile foundation – the vehicles that are our home, transport, and the command center for launching FPR – requires immediate, critical attention before we can make our planned move to Virginia to establish the first community.
While the video below shows some of our previous RV challenges like floor rot, our current urgent needs for the $25,000 GoFundMe are very specific and vital to our mobility and survival:
We urgently need to raise $25,000. This funding, through our Freedom’s Purchase Ranch GoFundMe, will specifically cover:
- CRITICAL JEEP REPAIRS: New shocks and lower control arms for our essential transport vehicle.
- DAUGHTER’S RV SAFETY: Six new tires for her RV to ensure it’s roadworthy.
- OUR RV SAFETY: Fixing the emergency brake on our primary RV.
- THE MOVE TO VIRGINIA: Costs associated with relocating our family and vehicles to establish the first FPR community.
- ESSENTIAL LIVING EXPENSES: Funds to keep our family going while we dedicate ourselves to this launch and undertake these repairs.
Your support today makes our vehicles safe, allows us to relocate, and sustains our family as we pour everything into building a haven for many. This is the absolute first step.
>>> HELP US GET ROAD-READY & LAUNCH IN VIRGINIA: Donate NOW! <<<
Learn More About Our Full Story, Our Family, and Our Vision…
Forged in Fire, Driven by Purpose: The Baird Family Story
Freedom’s Purchase Ranch isn’t just a concept; it’s a mission born from the deepest personal experiences of its founders, Mike and Abbe Baird.
Mike’s father, his best friend and greatest mentor, was a man of incredible resilience. Despite life-altering injuries from breaking his back and neck, leaving him mostly wheelchair-bound, he mastered countless trades. He taught Mike the invaluable lessons: “If you break something, you fix it – it’s too expensive to just replace and waste,” and to never, ever give up. And he always reminded them, “Laughter is the best medicine,” a truth that helps them face even daunting vehicle repairs with a determined smile. His pragmatic wisdom, “It’s easier to give up than to push on and fix mistakes,” fuels their resolve daily.
This legacy was profoundly tested. After his father’s passing and Mike’s own battle with severe depression, the pandemic brought job loss, and ultimately, Mike, Abbe, and their family faced four years of homelessness. This firsthand experience of hardship ignited the vision for FPR – to create the support and community they knew was missing for so many.
Abbe Baird is the unwavering practical powerhouse of FPR. A talented graphic artist and web designer, her skills extend to fearlessly tackling vehicle and RV repairs, from replacing radiators to fixing roofs, embodying the self-sufficiency FPR champions.
It is from this crucible – a father’s wisdom, a family’s journey through homelessness, and an unbreakable spirit – that Freedom’s Purchase Ranch was conceived. This is our “why.”
Support Our “Fix It & Build It” Mission: Donate to Our GoFundMe
More Than Shelter: Our Blueprint for Sustainable Communities Ending Homelessness
Once we establish our foundation in Virginia (thanks to your help with our vehicle repairs and relocation!), Freedom’s Purchase Ranch will offer a holistic, replicable model to end homelessness for individuals and families, including our honored veterans:
- Sustainable Eco-Friendly Housing: Affordable, energy-efficient homes.
- Renewable Energy Systems: Clean power aiming for grid independence.
- Permaculture & Organic Agriculture: Growing food, regenerating land, teaching “gardening hacks.”
- Innovative Waste Management: Biogas digesters for energy and compost.
- Thriving Vocational & Entrepreneurial Hubs:
- The FPR Restaurant (Culinary Arts)
- The FPR Race Shop (Mechanics, Welding, Fabrication)
- The FPR Print Shop (Graphic Design, Printing)
- The FPR Digital Media Hub (Web Design, Digital Marketing – leveraging Abbe’s expertise!)
- Strong Community Building & Support: Shared meals, mental health resources, peer support.
- Education for Empowerment: Sustainable living, vocational skills, personal development.
Planting Seeds of Change: Why Virginia?
Virginia is our chosen starting point for the first Freedom’s Purchase Ranch. We’re originally from Philadelphia and love the East Coast. With family in Virginia Beach, it allows us to be closer to loved ones. We’re also drawn to Virginia’s beautiful mountains, and the Appalachian range often provides a buffer against severe weather, ideal for the stable, sustainable community we envision.
Help us make this crucial move by supporting our GoFundMe for vehicle repairs, relocation, and sustenance.
Join Us: Be a Part of the FPR Movement to End Homelessness!
This is a community effort. Here’s how you can make a real difference:
- DONATE (Our Most Urgent Need!): Every dollar to our $25,000 GoFundMe campaign helps with critical vehicle repairs, funds our move to Virginia, and provides essential living support so we can dedicate ourselves to launching FPR. This is Step One.
- VOLUNTEER: Your skills in construction, farming, grant writing, mechanics, or mentorship are invaluable. Learn About Volunteer Opportunities.
- PARTNER: Collaborate with us if you share our vision to end homelessness. Explore Partnership Possibilities.
- SHOP NATURE HEALS APPAREL: Support our mission with every purchase. Visit Our Shop.
- SPREAD THE WORD: Share our story and GoFundMe! Follow us on Facebook & Instagram. Use #FPRGoFundMe #EndHomelessness #SustainableCommunity #BairdFamily.
A Message from Mike & Abbe Baird: Together, We Restore Hope.
“Freedom’s Purchase Ranch is the culmination of a lifetime of lessons from my father, the resilience forged through our family’s own homelessness. We know what rock bottom feels like, and we know the strength it takes to rebuild. With your help, we will create communities where everyone, including our veterans who have given so much, can find skills, support, and a place to truly call home. Thank you for believing in our family and our mission to build a better future.”