Help Farmhand Rick Smile Without Pain: GOAL MET!

We are Phil and Sarah Hallstedt, the founders of Hallstedt Homestead. We are conducting this fund drive on behalf of and in collaboration with our orchard manager, Rick. He is in need of comprehensive dental repairs that include extractions of the upper teeth and addressing the infection, followed by placement of several upper implants and the restoration of his entire upper jaw/teeth. We want to make it financially possible for our friend to smile again and live without pain. The campaign was recently covered by the Traverse City Ticker which is an online newspaper. You can read about it through the link here.

Hallstedt Homestead, also known as HH Cherries, is a family-owned u-pick cherry orchard that also has over 120 varieties of flowers. Many of our summer staff are college interns, but we also work with people that want to learn about or participate in the agricultural field. Rick approached us last summer as he wanted a career change after working in construction and the music industry. He loved learning and applying himself to all types of hard work on the farm.

Rick returned this spring to work as our orchard manager, overseeing all aspects of maintaining the trees, harvesting the cherries, and assisting with all equipment repairs while helping to improve our operations. Together we grow amazing fresh fruit and flowers, educate our staff and u-pick guests on the complexity of growing food, and heal bodies, minds and spirits through the wonder of Leelanau Peninsula.

Rick has become an important element of our operations but above all, Rick is important to us for his friendship. He is so encouraging and thankful for everything around him that he lifts everyone’s spirits. Farming is hard, but he finds joy in the journey and deeply appreciates the wonder of bringing a bounty to harvest.

Why does Rick need help?

As our friendship grew, we learned that Rick is in constant pain that radiates from the teeth in his upper jaw. The nerves are exposed from 30+ years during which he did not have the means for proper dental care, and this originated from a hereditary condition that was not corrected early in his childhood. A local church provided funds for a thorough examination and treatment plan, and the dentist shared that his entire upper jaw needs to be reconstructed over six months to fix the problem. Besides the pain and inability to bite properly, Rick hides his smile to avoid showing the nubs of his front teeth.

We are striving to create enough income to employ Rick as our first year-round employee with proper health insurance benefits. At present, Phil and Sarah have jobs off the farm much like the majority of farmers as we work to grow and become more profitable. As a part time employee, Rick remains on Medicaid which covers dental cleaning but not dental repairs. He has petitioned the Medicaid clinic for the dental work that is needed, but it is not covered. For those on Medicaid or working without dental insurance, all costs are paid out of pocket. This applies to many adults that do not have dental insurance to cover high cost lifechanging procedures.

What can be done to help Rick?

We have a comprehensive plan for Rick’s dental care. Rick is working with Jacob Sorber DDS at West Bay Family Dental here in Suttons Bay, MI in combination with John Hall DDS, a Periodontist in Traverse City. They have created a comprehensive assessment and treatment plan, which includes extractions of the upper teeth and addressing the infection, then placement of several upper implants and the restoration of his entire upper jaw/teeth over a 6 month period. All funds will go towards these out of pocket costs so that Rick can eat and smile comfortably.

Total Cost for Treatment Plan integrated with Dr. Jacob Sorber DDS and Dr. John Hall DDS

Total $41,187

We are receiving donations directly to the campaign through cash donations and dentist discounts. Periodically we reduce the GoFundMe goal as these donations come in which you can track in our updates or share a note to Phil if you have a question. As of December 17, our direct cash and dentist donations totaled $15,296 which reduces the campaign goal to $25,891 shown in GoFundMe. We have $4,779 remaining to raise, which is the final 12% of the total budget! Whether you use GoFundMe or a direct donation, thank you! 

If the campaign exceeds its goal, our plan is to help other adults in need.

There are many more workers providing food, materials, and services to our community who are in dental pain while being unable to afford the repairs. We will transfer the control of any excess funds to Mary Stanton, Executive Director of the local food bank and clothing store LCN, and Dr. Robin Carden, pastor of the Suttons Bay Congregational Church which continuously leads a robust mission outreach effort. Together, they will identify working adults with severe dental needs, especially those that work in industries involved with our food supply. There are so many people living with dental pain as they grow our food, process it, place it on our grocery shelves, and serve it in restaurants for the community to enjoy.

Our goal is to help Rick spend the rest of his life the way that we believe he should: eating comfortably and smiling widely. Thank you so much for contributing to or sharing our campaign.