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Nurse and former Marine Aimee Morris draws on several careers and experiences to run Glenn Hope Care Farm.
The 43-acre York County property, formerly her family’s farm, has become a multipurpose refuge for veterans. Dubbed a “care farm” for its health-focused services, Glenn Hope offers horticulture, woodcrafting, yoga, and several forms of therapy all aimed at supporting veterans and their families.
“That fresh air, that natural sunlight, the relationship between animals, human beings, and the land … help facilitate and heal the physical and mental well-being of veterans,” Morris told PA Local.
Morris' work with Glenn Hope Care Farm and her dedication to helping veterans earned her a nomination for PA Local Heroes, our monthly series sponsored by Ballard Spahr.
The farm has been operating for about 10 years, Morris said.
People find their way to Glenn Hope through several means. Referrals from Veterans Affairs offices, or relatives and friends of service members, are a typical way, according to Morris. But some vets also sign up through the nonprofit’s website.
Morris, her family, and volunteers staff the organization, running various programs and performing assorted farm chores.
In addition to its care work, the farm also hosts larger events like a veterans’ kids camp, a fishing derby, and conservation and watershed restoration sessions for local students.
Morris said that seeing firsthand how nature and the land help people inspires her.
“Having worked in nursing, where everything's very sterile and institutionalized … it's just a different element,” Morris said of the outdoors. “I feel like we've really gotten back to that human element of healing.”
Morris’ patience has endeared her to the vets she works with.
She never pushes people to share more than they’re able to, said Devin Fink, a retired Army veteran.
Fink first learned about Glenn Hope Care Farm during a Ruck 22 event, a march in which participants carry weighted backpacks to raise awareness about veteran suicide.
Fink spent two years at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after he was injured in an IED blast. When he medically retired in October 2024, he went hunting on the Glenn Hope Care Farm property. At the time, he used a cane, but that wasn’t a hindrance. He told Spotlight PA thankful that Morris and her dad help veterans participate in activities no matter their physical ability.
He’s now one of the farm’s volunteers, and helps Morris with maintenance like mending fences and animal care. He also participates in some of the veteran programming.
Fink said he found religion when he was at Walter Reed, and thinks he would have eventually discovered service work even without Morris. But Glenn Hope accelerated his turnaround.
“I don't think I would be as recovered as I am now [without Glenn Hope Care Farm],” Fink said. “I would definitely be more lost without purpose.” He credits Glenn Hope with inspiring him to start Frontline Companions, which offers free service dog training for disabled veterans and first responders.
Stories like Fink’s are why Morris opened Glenn Hope. She relishes the times when a veteran she’s served says the farm changed their life.
For instance, she recalled a vet who came to Glenn Hope because of a community service obligation. For months the veteran showed up, did his work around the farm, and headed home, Morris said. When she would check in on him to ask if he was thirsty or hungry, he never really said much.
But one day, while weeding in the garden with Morris, the man spoke candidly about his tour in Iraq.
“It was like the floodgates had opened up, and he had felt compelled and safe, and just started really telling about everything that he had experienced,” Morris said. “I think that was probably the most memorable because I wasn't looking for or expecting change. It was one of those things where I wasn't sure he was really getting anything out of his time here, and it was at that moment that I realized it meant more than I had ever really realized.”
Morris believes care farming works so well because of the collaboration and community it entails: “It's that working together that allows for that organic, natural healing to take place.”
