Friends of Bella Terra Farm

10/28/2026

10/24/2026

Natalie Portera has spent a lifetime serving others, bringing over 30 years of dedicated volunteer experience to our mission. As the founder and executive director of Friends of Bella Terra Farm her mission is to build a more inclusive, supportive, and joyful world for individuals with disabilities and their families. Her extensive background in community outreach includes over 30 years volunteering at Our Lady of Sorrows Church—supporting the ministry feeding the homeless and helping with the 4th of July Festival—and more than 10 years as a team leader for the Bread and Roses ministry at Prince of Peace Church. Passionate about empowering individuals with disabilities, Natalie currently serves as the Director of the Special Needs Ministry at Prince of Peace Church.
She also served both as a past President and Vice President of Parent Advocates Down Syndrome. Natalie is deeply woven into the local community, serving with the Wilsonville Fine Arts Club to raise funds for Wreaths Across America, local schools, and the fire department. She is a proud member of the Hoover Service Club, a charitable auxiliary dedicated entirely to helping the community. Having experienced the journey firsthand with her youngest daughter, Natalie also served with Heart to Heart, connecting with and visiting families whose children have open-heart surgery.
When she isn't giving back, Natalie treasures life in Alabama with her family. She has been happily married for 34 years, has two beautiful daughters, and is a proud grandmother to one grandson.

09/23/2026

Please welcome board advisor Dr. Susann Kircher, MD. She graduated from John Carroll high school in 1988 and then went on to Springhill College on a partial scholarship and majored in pre-med. She went to medical school at South Alabama where she graduated with an MD degree in 1996. From there she moved to Texas to do her internship and residency in Internal Medicine in from 1996-1999 and became board certified in Internal Medicine in 1999. She then moved to San Diego to subspecialize in Allergy Asthma and Immunology.
She finished this Fellowship in 2001 and became board certified in Allergy Asthma and Immunology.
She practiced in San Francisco
then Atlanta and Gainesville Georgia before moving back home to Birmingham and opening her own Solo practice.
Unfortunately she had to retire early as 14 autoimmune diseases as well as many other diseases took their toll on her.

She loves volunteering and won a community Service award in medical school and while in college she was co-founder of a volunteer group called Serving our Society -SOS for short.

Physically she says she can’t do much anymore but would love to serve on the board of such an outstanding organization. Welcome Dr. Susann we appreciate your wisdom and wanting to help make the community better.

09/23/2026

Meet our Vice President Jane Grantham. Jane was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She married lifelong friend Jimmy, thirty six years ago when he was serving in the US Navy. Together they raised three daughters in Vestavia Hills. Jane worked as a special education paraeducator when her children were small, but moved into the private sector to utilize her business degree as they got older. She enjoys retirement with Jimmy by gardening, taking frequent boat rides, and projects like crocheting and quilting. Welcome aboard Jane.

09/23/2026

Please welcome our new Vice President Jane Grantham. As we transition into this next chapter, I want to acknowledge Diana Wall, who had to step down from her role as Vice President due to family obligations. We are grateful for Diana’s dedication and impact she left on our mission.

09/02/2026

The future site of hope, healing and hooves. 🫏❤️🐐 Continued support ensures we can build a safe, adaptive environment where animals heal hearts and hands. ❤️

08/19/2026

Our photographers Mallie Scroggins and Candy Goldbach captured some wonderful moments from the auction. Thank you to all our guests for being a part of this special evening and helping us move forward towards our goal.

08/19/2026

💙 HSC Serving in Our Community 💙

Several Hoover Service Club members, Heather Lurie Pierce, Amy Russell , Elaine Kopecky Thompson, Debbie Rutherford , & Jenn Sublett, had the pleasure of volunteering at the inaugural Friends of Bella Terra Farm Fundraiser on August 15 at Prince of Peace Catholic Church.

Friends of Bella Terra Farm is a volunteer-based nonprofit in Columbiana whose mission is to provide hope, healing, and happiness to individuals with disabilities and their families through therapeutic animal interactions. 🐴🐓

The evening included dinner and a silent auction to help raise funds toward the organization’s goal of preparing its land, installing agricultural fencing, and building a barn for the animals.

We are so proud of our HSC members who gave their time to help make the evening a success. One of the things we love most about the Hoover Service Club is the opportunity to not only serve our own projects, but to support and encourage other organizations doing meaningful work in our community. 💙

Thank you to Natalie Portera, Director for Friends of Bella Terra Farm, for allowing us to be a small part of such a special evening!