Gratitude in Action
In honor of Ed Utterback
The Ed Utterback Gratitude Fund
Jacob’s Ladder at Brookside Farm is a long term substance use disorder treatment program for young men. Jacob’s Ladder is special because of Ed and Mary Utterback who graciously gave of their farm and of themselves to make a difference.
Before Ed’s passing he shared that it had given him joy to see so many of Jacob’s Ladder’s gentlemen embrace recovery and all the joys life has to give. He said it filled him with happiness and hope.
In honor of Ed and in that spirit of happiness and hope, we present The Ed Utterback Gratitude Fund.
Jacob’s Ladder's graduates have completed a monumental step forward in their recovery journey. But for many, the next phase after treatment begins with an urgent need: a warm meal, new glasses, clean clothes, transportation to a new job, help with a security deposit.
That’s where The Gratitude Fund comes in!
This fund was created with one simple but powerful belief: that gratitude grows when it’s shared. Your support helps individuals in early recovery meet critical, short-term needs that make long-term healing possible. We’ve seen what happens when people feel safe, supported, and seen. Lives stabilize. Hope returns. Families are restored. Gratitude blossoms.
Will you give today to help someone in recovery take their next brave step?
Your gift will go directly toward immediate needs like housing, transportation, and basic essentials—needs that can’t wait.
Because of you, gratitude becomes a force for real, lasting change.
We will forever be grateful for Ed’s wise words of advice, his listening ear, his nonjudgmental heart, and his unconditional love. May Ed’s example of embracing life and caring for others live on in each of us.