Marigold Wellness Collective, a small business in Sharon Center, Ohio, partnered with The Shepherd’s Well, an organization that provides respite to mothers of special needs children, to host its third annual fully funded spa day on November 6.
Jane Cawley, the founder of The Shepherd’s Well, was inspired to create this organization in 2015 because of her own experience having a special needs family member.
“I felt led to offer something to moms that have special needs children,” Cawley said. “I have a special needs grandchild, so I was introduced to the community of moms that have special needs children. I saw that these moms spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week, taking care of their children, and seldom get a break.”
The Shepherd’s Well has grown since its first retreat in 2016, now hosting about 5 day retreats and 5 weekend retreats each year. As well as this, Cawley is connected to mothers across Northeast Ohio, giving hundreds of women an opportunity to experience a day of respite in their area.
“I have an email list with around 400 moms of special needs children from around Northeast Ohio and I contact them every time we have a retreat,” Cawley said.
The activities these mothers can participate in are different each time, mostly depending on location.
“We host these wherever we can find a building that would be conducive to doing different things to give the moms a chance to rest and enjoy the day,” Cawley said. “[Activities] vary on the venue, and Marigold has been generous to donate their time to us.”
Marigold Wellness Collective has hosted one ‘Shepherd’s Well Day’ each year since 2021, continuing this tradition in 2023. This year, Marigold hosted around 38 mothers, providing them with a variety of services and activities, including free epsom salt floats, one of Marigold’s signature services. Beyond this, service providers, such as massage therapists, stylists, nail technicians, and estheticians, donated their time and products to provide these mothers with a well-rounded spa experience.
“All of our service providers give up a full day’s work in order to take care of these women,” said Melissa Farnsworth, owner of Marigold Wellness Collective. “They use their talents, their time, their products, and they are so happy to do it. That just impresses me because they don’t act like it’s a work day, they act like it’s a privilege, and that says a lot about the women of Marigold.”
A variety of activities beyond spa treatments were provided, including an ornament-making craft station and prayer rooms. Beyond this, food and beverages were provided by 24 Karrot Kitchen, the full-service restaurant within Marigold.
In welcoming these mothers through Shepherd’s Well, Farnsworth feels that Marigold’s fundamental values align well with those represented by the organization.
“When I heard about [The Shepherd’s Well], I thought that it represented the heart of Marigold,” Farnsworth said. “We like to take care of people who take care of people. Our missions just gelled really well and that’s how we ended up starting it.”
Farnsworth believes that without the help of her employees, along with these providers, she would not be able to sponsor such an event.
“It’s one thing for me to want it to be the heart because I’m the face, but to have all of these women to be on the same page, that’s pretty impressive,” Farnsworth said. “If they didn’t say yes to this, we couldn’t do it.”
With Marigold Wellness Collective and The Shepard’s Well continuing to collaborate, even more mothers of special needs children have been able to receive the ‘respite and refreshment’ Crawly and Farnsworth feel they deserve.
