Table Rock Foundation History
Table Rock Foundation has a colorful history, founded by Brenda Patton and Phil Hart in 1996 after several talking circles in 1994, with many of their friends discussing the question:
How do we as a people sharing this land live wholly, work creatively, play healthfully, and raise the next generations in a manner that heeds economic need, community diversity, environmental necessity, and spiritual connection? Each individual brought to the circle unique perspective; each took away greater personal awareness and something of a shared understanding. Everyone, to one degree or another, came away wanting to continue the dialog and wishing to expand it to include others. The name of the organization was inspired by Phil Hart, a well known wordsmith and artist, who originally called the group "Table Rock Formation" as they were forming this vision in 1994. When TRF officially became a nonprofit entity in 1996, Phil decided that they were out of the "formation" phase and now had a solid "foundation" to continue the work; thus the name became the Table Rock Foundation, in honor of the Table Rocks located in Central Point, OR which are such an important symbol and ceremonial space for the original people of this area. Indigenous wisdom has always been a guiding principle of the work and stewardship practices driving Table Rock Foundation's mission. Phil came to live at Enchanted Forest in 1993 and soon thereafter, Grandmother Agnes Pilgrim and her husband Grant moved onto the land at Enchanted Forest Farm. This brought the first nation people back to the land. Helping Aggie bring her message of living in balance and treating one another and all creation with respect, led Table Rock Foundation to bring back the Salmon Ceremony, an ancient tribal observance. Presided over by Aggie, the oldest living descendant of the first people who lived on this land, this event served to reintroduce Native American culture to the area. Table Rock Foundation continued to provide support through 2006 when the Salmon Ceremony was able to achieve self-sufficiency through its own non-profit. |
Table Rock Foundation became international in scope in May of 2000 when we spearheaded a fundraiser to send someone on a fact-finding trip to gain information to aid in building a health clinic in Bhotechaur, Nepal. The project to build the clinic was ultimately taken over by the Rogue Gateway Rotary through Rotary International. Five years later TRF began the sponsorship of a twelve year old boy in Nepal born into extreme poverty. Our support provided this young man with an incredible future. He has now finished up his education at a college in Katmandu, becoming a civil engineer and achieving his dream of helping improve the quality of life for his people.
Table Rock Foundation currently oversees the Phil Hart Youth Camp in the mountains of Southern Oregon outside of Grants Pass, known as Enchanted Forest Farm. The camp was created in Phil’s memory shortly after he passed away.
Table Rock Foundation hosts several youth leadership, nature-based learning camps, and workforce development programming, which all embrace that original vision inspired from our 1994 talking circles.
Table Rock Foundation currently oversees the Phil Hart Youth Camp in the mountains of Southern Oregon outside of Grants Pass, known as Enchanted Forest Farm. The camp was created in Phil’s memory shortly after he passed away.
Table Rock Foundation hosts several youth leadership, nature-based learning camps, and workforce development programming, which all embrace that original vision inspired from our 1994 talking circles.
The Table Rock Foundation is located in Grants Pass, Oregon which is the original home of the Takelma, Shasta, and Latgawa peoples. This land is used as a connection between humans and nature to build economic, environmental, spiritual, and social well-being in our community. It is a cherished space that is loved and taken care of by the hands of those who have held significant meaning to it since their bare feet could touch the ground and it welcomes new hearts every single day. This land provides a safe space and opportunity to explore ways to relate to one another as humans and to the world. It is land that is used to foster and care for people dedicated to the future and the generations to come with many generations having already lived, adored, and given their energies for all who have yet had the opportunity to experience the space themselves.
Table Rock Foundation is recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
