The Three-Phase Path to a Lasting Community
From renovating our first transitional home to a 60–80 acre intentional community of belonging — three phases, all in motion, all sponsorable today. Here is how Rock Landing is being built, and how you can shape what comes next.
Our Approach
Not a Program With a Back Door. A Community With an Open Door.
Most transitional programs for young adults end with a goodbye. The clock runs out, the door closes, and the young person walks back into the same world they came from — only older, with a few more skills.
Rock Landing is being built differently. Our 12–24 month structured pathway prepares each resident for full independence. But for those who complete the program and want to stay — to apprentice in our vocational shops, become staff, eventually own a home in our community — the door remains open.
This is the long arc of the Rock Landing vision: build a real place that catches youth the moment the state lets them go, and offer them the choice to launch — or to stay and help raise the next class of youth who walk through our doors.
Three phases. One community. Any phase, any donor, any time.
All three phases below are live capital projects. Phase 2 and Phase 3 donors do not have to wait for Phase 1 to complete. A sponsor whose heart is in the dedicated campus or the full community can fund that phase today and accelerate the whole vision.
Opening the First Transitional Home
$5,505,000 Capital + Year-1 Operating Investment
A 25-bed residential and training facility in the Roanoke Valley, ready to receive the first cohort of young adults aging out of foster care. The bones, the team, and the program — funded and operational from day one.
We are evaluating two paths forward for the Foundation’s first transitional home. Both paths below deliver full program and full staff, with Path 1 launching at 25 beds and Path 2 scaling to 50–70 beds in a purpose-built campus.
🏡 Path 1 — Renovate
Honor what has stood here for decades by renewing it. Convert the 2.3-acre Botetourt County property — an operating assisted-living facility transitioning out of service after 40+ years of caring for our veterans — into a 25-bed residential and training community. The bones are good. The setting is right. The story carries forward.
🌅 Path 2 — Build New
Acquire 30–40 acres elsewhere in the Roanoke region and purpose-build a facility using Quonset and barndominium-style construction — sized for 50–70 students and designed around our 10 vocational tracks, residential housing, mental-health and wellness spaces, and the long-term needs of the youth we serve. Built from the ground up for this mission.
The Path 1 Candidate Property
2.3 acres in Botetourt County, Virginia — special-use zoning approval secured, already in an agricultural zone.
The Path 2 Candidate Property
30–40 acres in the Roanoke region (to be acquired) — purpose-built campus designed for 50–70 students using Quonset and barndominium-style construction.
Conceptual rendering — labeled buildings include the Transitional Home, Wellness Center, Outdoor Trauma Recovery, Gym & Fitness Center, Vocational Training, Greenhouse, and Admin Office.
The $5.5M Phase 1 Investment
Detailed line-item budget from our grant proposal — capital + Year-1 operating
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| Property Acquisition (incl. closing & site prep) | $750,000 |
| Renovation & Construction | $2,000,000 |
| Furniture & Equipment | $500,000 |
| Capital Subtotal | $3,250,000 |
| Program Development | $150,000 |
| Year-1 Staffing | $1,240,000 |
| Departmental Budgets | $165,000 |
| Operating Expenses (Year 1) | $250,000 |
| Contingency & Reserves | $350,000 |
| Operating & Program Subtotal | $2,155,000 |
| Total Phase 1 Investment | $5,505,000 |
Full line-item detail available in the grant proposal — request below.
What Phase 1 Makes Possible
The Dedicated Youth Campus
~$12,000,000
Acquire 30–40 acres and begin Quonset / barndominium-style construction of a purpose-built youth campus, designed from the ground up around the 10 vocational tracks. Each program gets its own dedicated facility — built with steel-arch architecture that’s faster, more affordable, and instantly recognizable as the Rock Landing identity.
Conceptual rendering — labeled buildings include the Transitional Home, Wellness Center, Outdoor Trauma Recovery, Gym & Fitness Center, Vocational Training, Greenhouse, and Admin Office.
Rock Landing Community
~$35,000,000
A full intentional community on 60–80 acres. The dedicated youth campus continues operating, surrounded by residential cottages, staff housing, ownership-track homes for program graduates, expanded working agricultural land, vocational shops, and shared community spaces — with room to keep growing.
Conceptual aerial of the Phase 3 community — solar-powered residential cottages, color-accented program buildings, working farm, pond, gathering pavilions, all set in the Blue Ridge foothills.
For most foster youth, every chapter of their life has ended in a goodbye. Phase 3 is built so that doesn’t have to happen again. Graduates who want to stay can apprentice in our vocational shops, become program staff, and eventually own a home within Rock Landing Community — building the family they never had, and helping raise the next class of youth who walk through our doors.
Expanded transitional housing capacity — supporting 100+ youth annually as the community grows. The heart of the mission, fully operational at full scale.
Dedicated cottages for full-time staff — keeping the people who care about the youth on-campus and committed.
Ownership-track residences program graduates can purchase to stay rooted in the community they helped build.
Significantly expanded agricultural operation across multiple acres: greenhouses, crop rows, livestock potential, and barn — training site, food source, and revenue stream.
Multiple workshop facilities — auto, construction, media, music, and more — running as community businesses that train youth, employ graduates, AND generate operating revenue.
Gathering pavilion, fire pits, basketball court, pond, walking paths — built for belonging, for celebration, for rest.
Solar arrays on residential cottages reduce operating costs and model the sustainability principles we teach.
Premium black-roof barndominium with warm wood accents — distinctive, dignified, built to last generations.
The Program
10 Vocational Tracks. Real Skills. Real Futures.
Each resident chooses a vocational track aligned to their interests and aptitudes. Every track is built around hands-on training, certifications, internships, and direct paths to employment in the Roanoke Valley region.
Culinary Arts
Commercial kitchen training, certifications, restaurant pathways.
Nutritional Planning
Food science, meal planning, wellness-industry pathways.
Construction & Home Repair
Hands-on building trades, electrical, plumbing fundamentals.
Digital Media & Performing Arts
Video production, photography, performance, storytelling.
Music Production
Dedicated recording studio — audio engineering, mixing, beat-making, songwriting.
Basic Healthcare Training
CNA pathways, medical-assistant foundations, healthcare-industry entry.
Career Readiness & Entrepreneurship
Resume, interview, financial literacy, small-business fundamentals.
Agriculture
Greenhouse, crop production, farm operations, ag-business pathways.
Auto Mechanic
1-bay training garage, engine diagnostics, repair certifications.
Electrical Fundamentals & Pre-Apprenticeship
Structured pathway to licensed-electrician careers — residential, commercial, and renewable-energy systems.
Major Donor & Grantor Inquiry
Let’s Talk
If you represent a foundation, family office, corporation, or grant program — or you are a major individual donor — we would welcome a conversation. Submit the form below and Sherryl Cephas will be in touch personally. Full grant proposal available upon request.
Your inquiry has been received. Sherryl will be in touch personally.